Road closures, canceled trains: Mass ultra-Orthodox protests shut down Jerusalem's public transport - Moshe Cohen

 

by Moshe Cohen

Road closures began at noon, and Israel Police and Netvei Israel have called on the public to avoid driving to the entrance area to Jerusalem throughout the day.

 

Protests against haredi draft begins in Jerusalem, October 30, 2025.

(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

 

Heavy traffic and significant disruptions are expected across Jerusalem and the roads leading to the city from 12:00 p.m. on Thursday due to ultra-Orthodox mass protests against the haredi draft law.

Israel Police and Netivei Israel have announced that Route 1 will be closed in both directions, from the Latrun area to Ginot Sakharov, including the entrance to Jerusalem via Route 16 and the Sha'ar Hagai area, depending on developments during the protests.

Netivei Israel has called on the public to utilize alternative routes, including Routes 443, 44, 38, and 3.

The police issued a request to the public to avoid Highway 1 and recommended that they avoid driving to the Jerusalem entrance area throughout the day.

Exiting Jerusalem will be possible via the Arazim Tunnel and Route 16. However, the available routes will likely face heavy traffic, and the roads may be too narrow to accommodate the many vehicles that will not be able to enter and exit Jerusalem via Route 1.

Additionally, Israel Railways has announced that Jerusalem’s Yitzhak Navon train station will be closed at 12:30 until regular service is resumed at the end of the protest.

All train lines and stations except Yitzhak Navon will operate as usual. 

The National Traffic Management Center of Netivei Israel will operate a dedicated traffic control unit to manage traffic on the routes in the area and to monitor vehicle traffic in real time, in cooperation with the police, the Transportation Ministry, and security officials. 

Some 2,000 officers will be on duty for the event

As part of the preparations for the protest, approximately 2,000 police officers, volunteers and Border Guard soldiers will be on duty before and during the event.

The rally, coordinated in advance with the police, will take place at the entrances to the city of Jerusalem. 

The entry to Jerusalem via Highway 1 will be limited to pre-organized buses, which will be directed by police to passenger drop-off areas through the Givat Shaul junction.

Residents and workers of Jerusalem’s surrounding communities, Shoresh, Beit Meir, Neve Ilan, Mevaseret Zion, Har Adar, Abu Ghosh, Ein Rafa, and Ein Nekuba will be permitted to pass through police checkpoints only after presenting an ID card or employee ID.

Additionally, major roads within Jerusalem will be closed to traffic, including Givat Shaul Street and a section of Yafo Street.

Givat Shaul-Ramot Interchange will be closed in all directions, Ben Zvi-Rabbi Shmuel Baruch Street will be closed towards the entrance to the city, Shazar Boulevard will be closed towards the Givat Shaul Interchange, Herzl Boulevard will be closed from the Bari intersection towards Gesher Mitamitarim, the Malki Yisrael-Shari Yisrael intersection will be closed towards Nordo Square and Yirmiyahu Street. 

Moshe Cohen

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-872128

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