Central District Commander Police Chief Avi Biton called on anti-government protestors not to demonstrate in the area surrounding Ben Gurion Airport tomorrow (Monday), especially after a state of emergency was declared at the airport last night (Saturday).
"The night terror scenario of a plane with hundreds of passengers that was required to make an emergency landing in Ben Gurion Airport, is a warning light for all of us and obliges us to maintain the security roads leading to Ben Gurion Airport. I call on the organizers of the protests: show responsibility so that a disaster that we will regret will not happen," Biton said.
The Central District Commander further stated that the roads leading to Ben Gurion Airport "are defined as emergency roads and must be left free for the rescue forces at all times."
"The Israel Police considers the right to protest a cornerstone of a democratic country, and therefore we allow every citizen to exercise his basic right to demonstrate." However, he emphasized that there is a special significance to the highways of Israel, and that an attempt to block these highways could delay the arrival of emergency rescue forces, "thereby endangering tens of thousands of on the flights that take off and land in the field every day."
The police are urging the public to arrive at the airport earlier and travel by train in light of the protest leaders' intention to block the roads leading to the airport. The police also said that they will allow the participants of the protest to demonstrate in the area, but the blocking of roads will not be allowed and any attempt to disrupt the traffic surrounding the airport will be treated with zero tolerance.
A malfunction was detected on a Untied Airlines flight between Tel Aviv and Newark overnight, leading to the state of emergency being declared and the deployment of numerous emergency vehicles from the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas. The plane safely landed without injuries.