The Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee voted nine to six on Tuesday for amendments limiting protests during the current lockdown.

The amendment allows Israelis to participate in protests only within a kilometer of their homes during the lockdown. The bill, which must still be approved in the Knesset plenum but is widely expected to pass, will go into effect on Tuesday at midnight.

Hundreds of Israeli drivers protested in Jerusalem earlier on Tuesday against the amendment by clogging the streets around the Knesset. Anti-Netanyahu protesters also gathered outside the Knesset and clashed with police officers. Three protesters were arrested for alleged assault of police officers.

A report published last month by American researchers showed that at least eight cities in the U.S. experienced a spike in coronavirus cases following the George Floyd protests.

The researchers recorded spikes in Atlanta, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix and Seattle in the three weeks after the protests.

The report, entitled Relationship Of George Floyd Protests To Increases In COVID-19 Cases Using Event Study Methodology, was published in the Journal of Public Health.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)