Israeli PM Naftali Bennett condemned as family fly abroad despite travel restrictions

Leader comes under fire after his wife and children travelled overseas

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during a press conference on the Omicron variant in Tel Aviv. EPA

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was criticised on Thursday after his wife and children flew abroad only days after he urged citizens to avoid international travel because of the new coronavirus Omicron variant.

Gilat Bennett and her children took off on Wednesday, triggering a storm of criticism against Mr Bennett for not following his own guidelines.

Israel tightened travel restrictions after the variant was detected by closing its border to foreign visitors. The government banned travel to much of Africa, but Israelis are still allowed to fly to other countries and must enter quarantine when they return.

Israel barred entry to all foreign citizens for 14 days, effective from midnight on Sunday, under new directives announced by the Prime Minister's Office.

When the variant was first identified last month, the US, EU, UK, Israel and a host of other countries quickly blocked travel from several southern African countries.

Mr Bennett was criticised by political rivals and the public.

“It’s a testament to his behaviour, to his responsibility to the public, to the lack of personal example. He thinks he can do what he wants,” opposition politician Israel Katz told Israeli Army Radio.

Israel had just announced its detection of the Omicron variant after cardiologist Elad Maor, the country's third Omicron case, urged people to be vigilant and not revert to "unnecessary extreme measures".

Mr Maor attended a conference late last month in London and tested positive for the Omicron variant of coronavirus upon his return. Israel's previous two cases were detected in people coming from Africa.

Israelis took to social media to berate the prime minister on his social media pages, questioning his leadership.

“Send regards to the family abroad while we are all languishing here with the restrictions,” a user named Anna Gechtman wrote.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday answering questions about the new variant, Mr Bennett was asked about his family’s trip and said they were not breaching the new travel rules. He said they were expected to fly to a country that subsequently was banned to travel for Israelis and then changed their destination. He also said more had been revealed about where the virus has spread since his decision to limit travel.

“I understand the criticism,” Mr Bennett wrote. “Everyone is leaving while following the restrictions and will of course quarantine as is required.”

Mr Bennett announced the tightened measures in a press conference on Friday. He advised people not to book holidays because he expected more countries to be added to the no-travel list.

“If you ask me, I don't recommend flying abroad right now with such a level of uncertainty,” he said.

With additional reporting from AP