Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu meets with top doctors from his country’s Arab sector, March 18, 2020. Photo: Haim Zah / GPO.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Wednesday with several top doctors from his country’s Arab sector to discuss efforts to raise awareness about the coronavirus outbreak.

“This corona is no longer a disease,” he said. “It is an epidemic that hits everybody. It does not discriminate between Arabs, Circassians, Bedouin and Christians. It simply does not discriminate between religions and sectors; therefore, all of the country’s citizens must be fully responsible and show strict discipline.”

“We can take all the steps that we have and it will not help if the general public does not respond accordingly,” Netanyahu added. “If part of the public in any given place is not following these instructions, it is simply bringing about a situation in which it could lead to the infection of dear and beloved family members and the public at large. There is mutual responsibility here.”

“The public must implement the directives especially regarding personal conduct and maintaining distance and hygiene at all times, in order to ensure that we are in control of the epidemic,” he stated. “We have the possibility of doing so, but I ask for the cooperation of the entire Arabic-speaking sector, of Israel’s Arab citizens. I ask you, for yourselves and for our common future, please strictly follow the instructions.”

Participants in Wednesday’s meeting included Haifa District Deputy Physician Dr. Suniyeh Habib, Clalit HMO Adviser to the Director General on Arab Sector Affairs Dr. Zahi Said, Ziv Medical Center Deputy Director Dr. Anan Abbasi and National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat.

As reported by The Algemeiner on Wednesday, Arabic-language guidelines for dealing with the coronavirus are readily accessible on the Israeli Health Ministry’s website — despite false claims made by some BDS activists.

Nearly 600 Israelis have tested positive for coronavirus — a number that has steadily increased in recent days.