Ramat Gan Municipality Illegally Issues Parking Tickets Via Camera System

A reservist in the Israeli military received 29 parking tickets from the Ramat Gan municipality, totaling thousands of shekels, for violations that occurred nearly a year prior. The tickets were issued by an automated camera system, and due to the significant delay in delivery, the reservist lost the legal right to appeal most of them. He was denied his request to have the tickets canceled or to stand trial by the municipal prosecutor.

This case highlights a broader issue where local authorities in Israel are allegedly exceeding their legal authority by using advanced camera technology to enforce general parking violations, a practice that courts and the Knesset have indicated is not permitted. The law generally restricts local authorities to using cameras for enforcing traffic violations on public transportation lanes only. However, many municipalities, including Ramat Ramat Gan, reportedly rely on a "support authority" derived from a Ministry of Interior directive, which was originally intended for monitoring immediate road hazards, not for issuing parking tickets.

The Knesset's Economic Committee has discussed this issue, with lawmakers clarifying that municipalities lack the authority to use cameras for general parking enforcement. Despite these clarifications and a guiding court ruling that stated local authorities have no legal basis to use cameras and LPR technology for enforcing regulated parking (blue and white parking), many municipalities continue this practice, viewing it as a significant revenue source.

In contrast, the mayor of Be'er Sheva, Rubik Daniilovich, has taken a different approach. He ordered a thorough review of digital enforcement claims and instructed his legal department to exercise leniency, converting tickets to warnings. He also announced an immediate halt to all camera-based parking enforcement in his city pending the review.

The Ramat Gan Municipality responded by stating they operate lawfully and that the tickets in question were not automatically generated by an LPR camera system. They claim the decision to issue a ticket is made by a qualified inspector based on professional discretion and the circumstances of the incident, refuting the assertion that their enforcement system is illegal.