Israeli PM tests positive for Covid-19 after Blinken talks

JERUSALEM (AFP, REUTERS) - Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has tested positive for Covid-19, his office said on Monday (March 28), after he met United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Mr Bennett, who met Mr Blinken in Jerusalem on Sunday on the sidelines of a historic summit of Israeli and Arab diplomats, "is feeling well and will continue his schedule as planned from his home", a statement from his office said.

Mr Blinken will test for Covid-19 on Monday, a State Department spokesman said.

“Upon learning of Prime Minister Bennett’s positive test result, we determined that only Secretary Blinken is considered a close contact. He will follow all CDC guidance, including by masking and undergoing appropriate testing,” spokesman Ned Price said.

On Sunday, Mr Bennett visited the northern Israeli city of Hadera after gunmen shot dead two police officers in an attack claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group.

Police said the two gunmen - Israeli Arabs identified by Israeli intelligence as local ISIS operatives - were killed by counterterrorism officers who happened to be nearby.

Pictures published by Israeli media after his visit to Hadera, during which he was also briefed by the police on the attack, showed Mr Bennett wearing a face mask.

But the prime minister did not have a face mask during a joint news conference with Mr Blinken on Sunday.

The US top diplomat is in Israel to attend landmark talks with officials from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco - countries that normalised ties with the Jewish state in 2020.

His Egyptian counterpart will also join the group who are meeting later Monday in the Negev desert.

The talks come amid rising regional concerns over a deal Washington could soon reach with Iran to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.

On Sunday evening, after meeting Mr Bennett, Mr Blinken travelled to the Israeli-occupied West Bank for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.