Israeli highways, including Route 1 and the Shefayim area, reported unusually light traffic on Wednesday afternoon as many drivers avoided the roads amid expected disruptions from planned Haredi protests. A traffic police official said it had been a long time since roads were this empty at this hour.
On Wednesday afternoon, major Israeli roads were markedly quieter than usual as drivers appeared to heed warnings of planned Haredi protests over military draft legislation. The conjunction of a feared protest wave and the beginning of the afternoon rush hour produced paradoxical conditions: key arteries like Highway 1 and the Shefayim area had lighter-than-normal congestion. A traffic police officer quoted by N12 commented that it had been 'a long time since we saw the roads this empty at this hour.'
The scene comes as The Zioneer reported at 15:43 that police had warned of major disruptions on Highways 1, 2, 4, and 6. Earlier Wednesday, reports of heavy convoys heading toward Prison 10 had already caused jams. While no major Haredi protest materialized in the mid-afternoon hours, the light traffic suggests many drivers preemptively avoided the roads — a behavioral response to the widespread advance warnings and the tension following earlier confrontations between drivers and protesters on Highway 4 on Thursday.
3 developments
- DevelopingDrivers advised to stay home Wednesday afternoon amid slow-protest convoy
- StrongAll highways reopen, trains resume after two hours of protest disruption
- DevelopingProtest organizers instruct drivers not to initiate roadblocks tomorrow
- StrongJournalist Yishai Cohen accuses police of selective, violent enforcement against Haredi protesters
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