Israel approves law to curb protests on lockdown

Israel's parliament on Wednesday passed a law that would allow the government to curtail public protests during the country's nationwide coronavirus lockdown, a measure that drew fierce opposition a day earlier.

The Knesset approved the bill 46-38 during a late-night session that stretched into the morning hours.

The law allows the government to declare a special week-long state of emergency if the coronavirus spreads out of control.

If such a state is declared, the government would be able to limit participation in assemblies, including protests, to one kilometer (0.6 miles) from a person's home, effectively putting a halt to large weekly demonstrations outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence.

That measure is widely seen as a bid to stop protests against Netanyahu, which have drawn thousands each week outside his official residence for the past several months.

They are the largest sustained demonstrations against Netanyahu in nearly a decade.

Netanyahu has said the protests must end due to public health concerns.

But protesters say he is using the crisis as a pretext to muzzle them.

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