For the second time, Israel has once again entered the holiday within the framework of the corona restrictions • The result - a lot of checkpoints and police officers who distributed reports, too many citizens who violated the regulations
The State of Israel celebrated the third holiday of 1951 under the auspices of the Corona. Instead of Ushpizin - members of the nuclear family, instead of visiting the country on trips in the autumnal weather - buried in houses.
Archive photo: Moshe Ben Simhon
There was light traffic on Friday near the beginning of Sukkot on Road No. 1 on the road leading to Jerusalem.
Closures were also felt in neighborhoods throughout the capital, and most of the roads were empty when from time to time one of the residents was seen driving in his vehicle and on his roof branches thatched for a sukkah, the construction of which was completed at the last minute.
At the Sanhedria junction in the capital, Jerusalem residents hurried to purchase the four species ahead of the holiday.
At the spectacular lookout point on Mount Scopus, which is visited by groups of tourists in the twilight, there were lone residents in the evening, who enjoyed the breathtaking view of the city.
Police checkpoints were set up at various points in the capital to check on drivers, while at the entrance to the Old City there was a significant presence of police and border guards, who checked the entrants on foot to prevent crowds.
Over the weekend, the police in the Tel Aviv area fined several businesses with reports of NIS 5,000 for sale using the "takeaway" method, and recorded dozens more fines for violators. As part of an initiated enforcement activity carried out by the police in the area, several businesses were found not to comply. In addition, police teams involved in enforcing corona regulations in the Florentine, Lewinsky and Flea markets have imposed fines on dozens of civilians who violated the guidelines for various offenses, the most notable of which is not wearing a mask in public.
In another case, a 46-year-old Petah Tikva resident was arrested at a police checkpoint, and when she opened her car window, a strong odor of drugs rose from the vehicle. A check by police found 1.1 kg of marijuana drugs divided into portions. Her detention was extended over the weekend by three days.
Tightening enforcement
In the Sharon area, most residents obeyed the instructions.
On the eve of the holiday there was relatively heavy traffic on the roads.
Police enforcement through checkpoints was not felt.
However, starting in the afternoon and towards evening, the police began to tighten enforcement and deployed more checkpoints.
On the eve of the holiday and during it the traffic on the roads was very sparse.
Even within the cities the traffic was sparse, but it was possible to see people walking and holding sports activities near their homes.
Despite the closure, it was possible to see several vacationers on the beaches, some of whom even went into the water for swimming.
At the Aqueduct beach in Caesarea there were several dozen vacationers without any enforcement by the police.
And in the lowlands, police activity to enforce restrictions was considerable.
In Rishon Lezion, for example, the police acted against restaurants that were allegedly sold using the "take away" method.
The municipality has also placed a guard at the entrance to the beach to prevent people from reaching it other than individual sports activities or surfing.
In the city itself, apart from businesses that were allowed to operate and there was considerable activity in them - such as supermarkets that are open on Saturdays or pharma houses - the other places remained closed and the public was careful.
In Ashdod, during the past week, the mayor ordered a severe enforcement of any violation of the directive, both by business owners and insulators.
He also called on residents to help and report on violators of violations or businesses that violate the guidelines, with no less than 100 municipal employees being retrained to serve as supervisors of guidelines.
More than 50 reports were given of breach of isolation and closure at skipping checkpoints across the city.