Israeli lawmakers object to tracking virus via phones
Politicians from both the coalition and the opposition, together with human rights activists, are unhappy with the Bennett government deciding to enable the Shin Bet to track the phones of people infected with the omicron variant.
The Israeli Supreme Court today deliberated a petition by human rights groups against the government’s Nov. 28 decision authorizing the Shin Bet security agency to digitally track people infected with the new omicron corona variant through their cell phones.
Using emergency regulations, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had signed an order enabling the tracking for five days, with the possibility of renewing this daily by new emergency orders.
Even with the order signed by Bennett, the government knows it cannot continue for long with the tracking plan using emergency regulations. Thus, in parallel to the five-day authorization, the government also proposes a law to enable the Shin Bet to track the phones of people infected with omicron for up to 14 days.
The emergency-order decision and the proposal of a law on this faced objections within the cabinet. In fact, four ministers who had previously objected to Shin Bet tracking opposed the proposed law: Minister (in the Prime Minister’s Office) Eli Avidar, Economy Minister Orna Barbivai, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton and Justice Minister Gideon Saar.
