Haredi politicians' rejection of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed compromise has apparently paid off: Minutes before Shabbat began, Israel Railways was ordered to stop all infrastructure projects, which is likely to cause transportation frustration on Saturday night.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Last week, a political furor broke out over planned infrastructure-improvement construction that was slated to take place during Shabbat, when the trains do not run. The ultra-Orthodox factions in the government objected and threatened to withdraw from the coalition, which would bring down the government, and the prime minister proposed a compromise: Of the 20 projects that Israel Railways had requested to undertake on the Jewish Sabbath, 17 would be cancelled.

Train construction (Photo: Avi Moalem)

Earlier this Friday, Haredi politicians again sought to sway governmental policy. They insisted that all 20 projects be cancelled . The current coalition controls 67 of the Knesset's 120 seats. Haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism hold 13 seats, so their retreat from the coalition would indeed cause a governmental crisis and likely downfall.

Israel Railways stated in a press release on Friday night, "About five minutes before Shabbat began, Israel Railways received instructions to cease work this Shabbat." However, the release goes on to explain, this late notice meant that technical teams were already at work sites and had disassembled parts of the train tracks north of Tel Aviv in preparation for their strengthening over the weekend.

Passengers on Saturday night and Sunday should check train times online. (Photo: Gilad Carmeli)

To comply with the order, they were obligated to leave the tracks in that state and won't be able to return to reassemble them until after Shabbat ends on Saturday night. As such, they explained, there's "a heavy concern" that the Tel Aviv–Herzliya line won't be functional either then or on Sunday. They recommended checking train times on their website or on the mobile app before travelling and apologized for the inconvenience. A ripple effect is likely to affect other trains throughout the country.

IDF soldiers will be disproportionately affected by such an inconvenience. Many of the country's soldiers are released from their military bases over the Israeli weekend on Friday to return to their homes and are required to return on Sunday morning. Most soldiers travel via public transit, including on trains.