Military APCs in Jerusalem
Military APCs in JerusalemIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Bus traffic to and from Jerusalem, as well as inside it, resumed Saturday evening but was halted again, because of slippery road conditions.

The last train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was scheduled to depart at 10:30 p.m. The last train from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv was scheduled to leave the Malha station at 11:30 p.m.

A free shuttle service will take passengers from the Central Bus Station to the Malha train station.

The Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Police were preparing to gradually reopen roads in snowed-in the Holy City Saturday evening. The only vehicles moving on the roads as they were being cleared were snowplows and military vehicles that carried emergency teams.

Public transportation is to restart, as roads are cleared of the snow that accumulated in them. The light rail will not be operating on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.

The entrances and exits to and from Jerusalem will remain closed to private traffic until late Saturday night. Public transportation will be allowed to use Highway 1, while the abandoned vehicles that have been blocking traffic in that thoroughfare as well as Highway 443 are being cleared.

The vehicles were abandoned by drivers after snow made it impossible to move them. Some people were stuck in their cars for 12 hours and more, before deciding to leave them. Vehicles that were left behind on Highway 1 were towed by police to the Motza Turn, and are parked in the lot near the Black Steer restaurant.

Jerusalem's schools and kindergartens will remain closed Sunday, the municipality said, because of damage they sustained from the storm and the ensuing risk to children. The municipality will send teams to the educational institutions city-wide, in an effort to fix all damage and reopen the schools by Monday.

Due to gas leaks, gas balloons in some Jerusalem buildings were turned off by the municipality. The balloons must not be reopened except by licensed technicians, warns the municipality.

The Israel Electric Company was still trying to bring electricity back on, in numerous sections of Jerusalem that had their power cut, because of trees that fell on high voltage lines, or because of other storm-related events. Some neighborhoods had their power restored on Saturday.

As of Saturday afternoon, the neighborhoods without electricity in Jerusalem were Rehavia, Me'ah She'arim, Gilo, Nahlaot, Old Katamon, Baka, Neveh Yaakov, Pisgat Ze'ev, Kiryat Yovel, Ein Kerem, Kiryat Menahem, Rehavya, Beit Hakerem, Kiryat Shmuel, Talpiyot Industrial Area, Ramat Motza, Motza Illit, Ramot, Ramot Eshkol, Bar Ilan, Beit Yisrael, Shaarei Hesed, the German Colony, Arnona, Givat Shaul and Kiryat Moshe.

Photos by Flash 90. More photos here.