Israel's Health Minister confirms plans to resign amid coronavirus crisis

Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman confirmed on Sunday (local time) his plans to resign and defended his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying that he wants to get the post of construction and housing minister in the new government.

On Saturday, Israeli media reported that Litzman wanted to resign to head another ministry. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently seeking to form a unity government with his centrist opponent, Benny Gantz.

"After a decade of work in the Ministry of Health, at a time when Israel is implementing the strategy to overcome the coronavirus crisis and is set to form a new government, I decided against returning to the Ministry of Health for the fourth time. I prefer to lead a large-scale reform to solve the housing problem in Israel while being in the ministry of construction," Litzman said in a statement, as quoted by the Ministry of Health.

The minister went on to note that he was "proud to have led the healthcare system during this emergency."

"We made serious decisions for the benefit of the people of Israel. We were the first to stop traffic with China and other Asian countries, which was later proved to be an important and necessary step," he said. (Sputnik/)

( With inputs from ANI )