BICOM

Tensions between Israel’s Prime Minister and transport minister increased over the weekend following a decision to stop repair work on the railway system during the Jewish Sabbath, which resulted in huge delays for commuters yesterday morning.

Late Friday afternoon, shortly before the Jewish Sabbath began, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office instructed that scheduled works be halted at the request of ultra-Orthodox parties, which have recently criticised what they have termed an unnecessary desecration of the Sabbath.

The decision left maintenance work unfinished, which then continued following the Sabbath. It meant that the Tel Aviv-Haifa line remained closed until yesterday evening. This caused huge disruption for tens of thousands of commuters, plus many soldiers returning to base after weekend leave. Bus companies increased their service to help deal with the demand.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office squarely blamed Transport Minister Yisrael Katz for the situation. It said that there was no need for the work on the Sabbath to begin and that the episode was an “unnecessary crisis” initiated by Katz.

It further added that the situation was “designed to undermine relations between the Prime Minister and the ultra-orthodox public or alternatively to damage the image of the Prime Minister among the general public”.

There was no immediate response from Katz, but Social Affairs Minister Haim Katz issued a statement in his defence. Media reports say that Netanyahu had considered firing Yisrael Katz but decided against such a course of action. Relations between the two began to sour several weeks ago when Katz led an attempt to reduce Netanyahu’s power within the Likud Party.

Meanwhile, the question of maintenance work on the railways remains unresolved. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri who heads Shas, Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and plus Finance Committee Chairman MK Moshe Gafni, both of United Torah Judaism (UTJ), have raised deep concerns with Netanyahu on the issue during the last two weeks. Their parties remain a crucial part of Netanyahu’s coalition.