Snow blankets Jerusalem and the surrounding
area, causing road closures and traffic jams throughout the city and on
roads entering and exiting the capital • IEC declares state of emergency
• The worst of the chilly weather system expected Friday.
A Jerusalem light rail train
pushes through the snow on Thursday
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Photo credit: Lior Mizrahi  |
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Fifty centimeters (19.7 inches) of snow fell
in Jerusalem on Thursday and Friday (as of press time), leading to a
state of emergency in the city, to which entrance and exit roads have
been closed.
"I've heard of making guests welcome and
feeling at home. This is as far as I've seen anyone go, giving a nice
New England snow storm," said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on
Friday in Jerusalem, where he had arrived to continue peace negotiations
between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich and Police Commissioner
Yohanan Danino on Friday morning to discuss military and police rescue
operations for citizens stuck in cars on roads inside of and around
Jerusalem.
The Prime Minister further ensured that main
arteries inside the city itself be cleared to allow for assistance to be
delivered to residents, and he thanked emergency and security forces
for working around the clock to help those in cars and busses on the
snow-laden roads 1 and 443 into and out of Jerusalem, which are closed
due to dangerous driving conditions.
Egged has stopped bus service inside the city
and on routes to Jerusalem as well some routes in Judea and Samaria,
with service expected to resume on Saturday evening.
The transportation ministry has set up two
situation rooms to deal with the more than 11,000 calls from Jerusalem
residents and drivers in the surrounding area. Jerusalem is completely
closed to traffic and its public transportation has been shut down.
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz has issued a warning to stay off
the roads as much as possible, as more snow and ice is expected both in
Jerusalem and in the Negev.
The Defense Ministry has sent two convoys of
buses and trucks with generators to Jerusalem to help citizens who have
called for assistance. Defense Ministry teams have also delivered more
than 1,000 meals to rescued citizens and is preparing to give out 1,500
hot lunches on Friday.
The Israel Defense Forces Homefront Command is
working to clear roads in the Jerusalem area, freeing up the
effectively sieged city. Meanwhile, the Israel Electric Company has
declared a state of emergency, saying that the winds and snowfall caused
trees to fall on power grids. IEC warned citizens to stay away from
fallen and cut power lines, and announced that restoring power will take
"a very long time."
Meanwhile, children rejoicing over the
cancellation of school rushed outside to build snowmen and begin
snowball fights. "It's so much fun," said 10-year-old Yael excitedly,
"I'm happy there's no school, and even happier that there's lots of
snow. I'm a champion at building snowmen, and the cold really doesn't
bother me."
The worst of the storm is expected on Friday
afternoon, with winds reaching 70 km per hour (43 mph) and a steady
downpour from the north of the country to the south. On Saturday, the
snow will stop along with the rain.
The weather has also affected other parts of the region, with extremely unusual snowfall in both the Sinai and in Cairo.
"On Saturday evening, the [weather] system
will weaken," explained Nahum Malik, a forecaster from Meteo-Tech, "and
on Sunday, it will already be behind us."
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