PM: Closure of Ayalon Highway for traffic is unreasonable
Following an uproar over Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz's decision not to carry out construction work on a new bridge over Ayalon Highway during weekend, Prime Minister Netanyahu says he believes highway closure is 'unreasonable' and 'will be taken into account'; In the meantime, Tashtit members stage protest on Yitzhak Sadeh Bridge near construction site.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he believes that closing the Ayalon Highway for traffic on weekdays is "unreasonable" and vowed not to disrupt traffic.
"I do not think that it is reasonable to close a transportation axis, the Ayalon Highway, during the middle of the week. I think that this is understood and this will be taken into account. I do not think that traffic will be hindered in any way," Netanyahu said before leaving on an official trip to Lithuania.
The prime minister's statement comes amid the uproar over Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz's decision to halt plans to close parts of the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv during weekends for the construction of a new pedestrian and cycling Yehudit Bridge, which will connect Yigal Alon Street and the Montefiore neighborhood.
Ayalon Highways Co. explained it decided to completely close the highway during the construction, despite the inconvenience it will cause, because of the dangerous nature of the work.
The plans raised the ire of the ultra-Orthodox parties because of the Shabbat desecration it will entail.
Katz said the announcement about works to be carried out on Shabbat was "outrageous and needless."
He instructed Ayalon Highways Co. to immediately freeze the plans and submit new plans as soon as possible to carry out the works without disrupting traffic on the weekend, including by carrying out the work in the late night hours.
Ayalon Highways Co. said it would "act in accordance with Transportation Ministry instructions and will examine alternatives."
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai criticized Katz's decision saying the works cannot be done at night.
According to Huldai, Ayalon Highways Co. has already examined all possibilities and reached the conclusion that "works of this type would not only stop traffic on Ayalon Highway, but also stop Israel Railways trains, and would in fact lead to transportational catastrophe."
The Tel Aviv mayor explained that the deployment of the cranes alone requires more time than the three hours allocated for the nighttime works (2am-5am).
"Since this is a decision made in a professional manner and approved by the Israel Police, the Transportation Ministry and Welfare and Labor Minister Haim Katz, there's no other conclusion to draw but that Minister (Yisrael) Katz's decision is purely political and its results will cause immense damage to the citizens of the state in general and the residents of Tel Aviv-Jaffa in particular," Huldai charged.
He threatened to petition to the High Court of Justice against the decision.
On Thursday, a small group of secular activists from Tashtit—activism school that belongs to the Free Israel organization, hung banners on Yitzhak Sadeh Bridge near the site of the Yehudit Bridge construction work site on the Ayalon Highway.
"Katz is blocking Israel" and "Katz surrendered to Litzman," read the statements on some of the banners.
"The status quo has long been violated, lines have been crossed therefore no longer serves me," said Haim Berkovich, a graduate of Tashtit.
Berkovich said that he and his colleagues decided to participate in the demonstration in order to “demand that the state and its leaders represent us as well."
Reut Nagar, who serves as Tashtit’s community manager and is also a prominent activist in LGBT community, said the transportation minister’s decision is a religious coercion.
"We feel that all of this happening because we are preparing for an election and this is done at the expense of the secular public. It seems easy to accumulate political capital. We're not going to stay silent anymore and this is only the beginning," Nagar exclaimed.
Eyal Ackerman, deputy director of the Free Israel movement and Tashtit director, addressed the intentions behind the protest.
"Yisrael Katz's shameful surrender to the ultra-Orthodox parties will not be tolerated. No adequate transportation minister would throw the secular public under the bus every time the ultra-Orthodox parties decide to flex their muscles,” he vented.
“Those who believe that millions of people among the secular population are willing to be stuck in traffic jams so that one government minister can fix himself up coalition agreements in the future, will find out soon that we are much more determined to preserve our rights than he thought," Ackerman concluded.
