Defense Ministry Benny Gantz visited the 210th Division and the coronavirus testing complex in the Golan Heights on Tuesday, together with Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, Commander of the Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram, Commander of the 210th Division Brig.-Gen. Roman Goffman and Commander of the Northern District of the Home Front Command Col. Guy Berger.
The defense minister went up to the observation post on the Syrian front, where he was presented with a review of the IDF's planned strategy of action from the division commander, and held a dialogue with the brigade commanders.
At the end of the visit, the defense minister said that "We continue to be vigilant at all our borders. We have acted and will continue to act against anyone who tries to challenge us from near or far. We do not sit and wait: We act on security, we act politically and we act economically."
"Our enemies are not interested in the coronavirus or the elections. I will do everything to ensure that Israel has a leadership that is engaged 24/7 in Israel's security, health and advancing the necessary processes in the region," Gantz added.
Later in the tour, he visited the Golan Heights regional coronavirus testing complex, where he met with local council heads from Katzrin, Majdal Shams, Buqata, Ein Qiniyye, Mas'ade and Golan.
Gantz spoke with them about their response to the coronavirus and the assistance programs provided by the defense establishment to fight morbidity and encourage compliance with quarantine guidelines.
After visiting the testing complex, Gantz said "this is still the time of coronavirus. I urge everyone to continue to follow the guidelines, get tested and get vaccinated. The virus does not differentiate between sectors."
On vaccinations, Gantz said that "As I previously demanded, we will start the teachers' vaccination campaign tomorrow. All arguments on the topic are background noises that should not be allowed to interfere."
"Hopefully we will convene the Coronavirus Cabinet in the coming days and consider bringing the education system back into action the first moment possible; we will try to do so soon," he added.