Jerusalem Faction Protests Block Major Roads, Halt Train Service in Central Israel

Traffic congestion is being felt on roads across the country because of ultra-Orthodox protests, Sivan Hilai, ynet news, the police have now released a list of the roads and intersections where congestion is being felt following the ultra-Orthodox protests: Route 1 eastbound from the Lod Interchange to Ben Shemen, Route 1 eastbound from Latrun to Shoresh, Route 1 westbound from Lod to Ben Shemen, Route 1 eastbound from Latrun to Shoresh, Route 1 westbound from Motza to the Harel Interchange, Route 1 westbound from Anava to Ben Shemen, Route 1 westbound from Shapirim to Gannot, Route 2 northbound from Hof HaSharon to the Gesher HaShalom Interchange, Route 2 southbound from Netanya to the Gesher HaShalom Interchange, Route 4 northbound from Yavne to the Palmachim Bridge, Route 4 northbound from the entrance to Even Yehuda to the Hadassim Junction, Route 4 southbound from Givat Shmuel to the Mesubim Interchange, Route 5 eastbound from Yarkon to the Kasm Interchange, Route 40 northbound from Ramlod to the Ahisamakh Junction, Route 40 northbound from Lod to the El Al Junction, Route 40 northbound from the Beit Dagan Junction to the entrance to Magshimim, Route 40 southbound from Sha'arayim to the Tayasim Junction, Route 41 eastbound from the Port of Ashdod Junction to the Ashdod Interchange, Route 41 westbound from Ashdod to the Nir Galim Junction, Route 44 northbound from the Beit Dagan Junction to the Chabad Junction, Route 412 southbound from the entrance to Or Yehuda to the Beit Dagan Junction, Route 444 northbound from the entrance to Elad to the Migdal Afek Junction, Route 471 eastbound from Sha'arayim to the Neshonim Interchange, Route 471 westbound from Uno to the Bar Ilan Interchange, Route 4 northbound from the entrance to the Naaman industrial zone to the Ein HaMifratz Junction, Route 65 eastbound from Iron to the Umm al-Fahm Junction, Route 65 eastbound from the Nin Junction to the Gazit Junction, Route 65 westbound from the Sargel Junction to the Megiddo Junction, Route 70 northbound from the Somer Interchange to the Abeilim Junction, Route 70 southbound from the entrance to Gdida to the Yasif Junction, Route 77 eastbound from the Yizreel Interchange to the Zarzir Interchange.

Following protests by the Jerusalem Faction, major roads in the country were blocked, train service in central Israel was halted, ynet news reported 13 minutes ago, at 18:05. Route 4, Route 6 and Route 1 were blocked in the afternoon on Thursday because of protests by the Jerusalem Faction, after continued arrests of draft evaders and the transfer to military prison of some of those arrested in the riots at the home of Deputy President of the Supreme Court Noam Sohlberg. In response to the roadblocks by police, ultra-Orthodox men were documented walking along the shoulder of Route 4 to the Gannot Interchange and then blocking it themselves. Later, Israel Railways service in the area was also suspended because of the presence of ultra-Orthodox demonstrators on the tracks. A police officer at the Gamzo Junction ordered a bus carrying ultra-Orthodox passengers to stop in order to prevent them from reaching the protest site and shouted to the driver, "Do not open the door," but in the end the ultra-Orthodox passengers got off the vehicle and joined the protest. Heavy congestion is expected throughout the evening, both because of the ultra-Orthodox protests and because of three major concerts taking place simultaneously in Gush Dan, Omar Adam at Ramat Gan Stadium, Ben Tzur at the Shlomo Bituach Stadium in Petah Tikva, and Eyal Golan at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv. The Israel Airports Authority recommended that passengers reach Ben Gurion Airport by train, due to the planned protests that, according to the authority, are expected to cause traffic congestion and disruptions on roads leading to Ben Gurion Airport. The Israel Airports Authority said it is prepared to maintain the operational continuity of the airport and the continued regular flight operations, in cooperation with all security, transportation and enforcement bodies. Continued