Tel Aviv's protest tents evacuated

Police, municipal inspectors clear tents, equipment in various locations across Tel Aviv early Monday morning. Court rejects petition against Rothschild Boulevard evacuation

Boaz Fyler |Last update: 10.03.11 , 13:43

Police forces and municipal workers evacuated protest tent sites in various locations across Tel Aviv early on Monday including the Levinsky Park, Ben-Gurion Boulevard and Nordau Boulevard. The Rothschild encampment was finally cleared in the afternoon hours.

A Tel Aviv District Court judge issued an injunction Sunday night against the full evacuation of the tent site in Rothschild following a petition filed by the social activists. Nevertheless, municipal inspectors cleared empty tents Monday morning leaving only one small stretch of the boulevard untouched.

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The remaining Rothschild tent dwellers packed their belongings as police officers stood by allowing them to vacate the site on their own. Many were seen crying as they cleared their belongings.

Getting tearful in Rothschild (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The court finally rejected the protesters' petition Monday afternoon, allowing officers and inspectors to finish the evacuation operation. Some of the protesters responded by pouring paint on the equipment.

In Nordau, the tent dwellers vacated the site voluntarily after being promised that the city will set up a "dialogue center" at the scene instead. One of the activists said that several token tents will be set up in coordination with the municipality.

The Tel Aviv Municipality said in response: "The city has encouraged the protest and has spent NIS 40,000 per day in cleaning, disposing of garbage as well as in allocating guards and inspectors, The Municipality has initiated the establishment of six dialogue centers instead of the tent sites and will leave the ones in Jaffa and the Hatikva Quarter in place.

Clearing furniture on Rothschild (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

"Social workers have spent the past few days working to find accommodation, food and showers for all those with no place to live. The city has even set up an information center for local residents and the homeless who are in need of aid."

The municipality stated that it could not reach understandings will the all the tent dwellers despite various meetings it held with them because of a lack of a unified message on their part.