Following the fast global spread of the omicron variety, Israeli ministers agreed on Monday to prohibit travel to the United States, Canada, and eight other nations.

Following a Cabinet vote, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's office confirmed the decision.

The unusual decision to put the United States on the blacklist comes in the wake of an increase in coronavirus illnesses in Israel, and it indicates a shift in pandemic tactics between the two countries with tight diplomatic ties. The United States will join a growing list of European countries and other areas where Israelis are prohibited from traveling and must remain in quarantine if they return.

The legislation is anticipated to receive final approval from a parliamentary committee. The travel restriction will go into force at midnight on Wednesday morning if it is approved.

In late November, Israel began shutting its borders and restricted travel due to an increase in new instances of the highly contagious coronavirus type. Foreign nationals are not permitted to enter, and all Israelis traveling from abroad, including those who have been vaccinated, must undergo quarantine.

Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland, and Turkey were also allowed to be included to the travel restriction beginning Wednesday.

Early this year, Israel launched a world-leading immunization program, with more than 4.1 million of Israel's 9.3 million citizens receiving their third dosage of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged parents to vaccinate their children in a prime-time address on Sunday, claiming that the country's "fifth wave" of coronavirus illnesses had begun. Israel's Health Ministry recorded 175 cases of the new variant as of Sunday.

Israel has recorded at least 8,232 deaths from coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.