Netanyahu's wife under fire for violating COVID-19 lockdown rules

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered a hairdresser to her home in Jerusalem in violation of lockdown rules designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

This was revealed by Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot on Wednesday and confirmed by a Netanyahu family spokesperson, who said that Netanyahu had believed she was permitted the service as a public figure filming a public awareness video last week calling on the public to wear masks.

The lockdown regulations ban hair salons from opening and forbid people from entering someone else's household aside for exceptions such as helping someone in need.

"Since Mrs Netanyahu is an influential public figure and this was an informational video for the public service, she assumed that hairdressing services could be used, as is customary on television channels," read a spokesperson's statment. It noted that both Netanyahu and the hairdresser wore masks and gloves while they were together.

Israel's second nationwide lockdown began on September 18, after a sharp rise in infection rates.

Yediot Ahronot also reported that the 15-year-old son of opposition lawmaker Naftali Bennett broke the rules by hosting his girlfriend in their family home on the holy fasting day of Yom Kippur.

A spokesperson told the newspaper that Bennett and his wife did not have prior knowledge of the visit, but that the minister took responsibility and regretted the incident.

Bennett's Yamina party has dramatically risen in the polls recently, coming almost neck-and-neck with Netanyahu's Likud party. His newfound popularity is largely related to his outspoken stance on the coronavirus crisis.