
UK Cabinet Office minister, who travelled with Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam, was rumoured in recent days to be planning a visit.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove arrived in Israel on Monday on an unannounced visit, reportedly to discuss a vaccine passport arrangement. Gove, who is one of the most senior ministers in Boris Johnson’s government, is said to have been accompanied on the small BAe HS146 aircraft by Jonathan Van-Tam, one of England’s deputy Chief Medical Officers.
The plane was photographed approaching for a landing at Ben Gurion Airport by Haaretz English editor Avi Scharf, who is also a keen observer of flight traffic in the region.
Several UK media outlets had speculated Gove would visit Israel this week to examine Israel’s vaccination programme in person. The country’s vaccine rollout is one of the most successful in the world, with nearly five million people — or 53.5% of the population — now fully vaccinated.
Read More: Michael Gove arrives in Israel for ‘vaccine passport talks’
