A Tel Aviv court heard a petition today by the Ministry of Infrastructures and the gas companies to re-open the Pi Gelilot fuel depot in Herzliya - but came to no decision. The hearing will resume tomorrow. Pi Gelilot, Israel\'s largest fuel depot - serving 1,000 trucks a day - was closed last week by municipal order following the detonation of a bomb on a fuel tanker. The resulting fire was quickly put out, but it is commonly assumed that a major catastrophe was only narrowly averted. The mayor of Ramat HaSharon issued the closure order on Thursday.
The Ministry and the companies claim that the closure of Pi Gelilot creates a very dangerous situation, in that more tankers will have to travel more time on the highways in order to reach other depots. In the meantime, the government decided yesterday that the site must be closed within three months.
Deputy Minister of Infrastructures Naomi Blumental explained to Arutz-7 today some of the issues involved in closing Pi Gelilot:
\"First of all, there is a difference between gas, which is very flammable, and fuel, a fire of which can be swiftly put out. Regarding gas, we [the Infrastructures Ministry] had been working on a plan for a while, which the Cabinet adopted yesterday, and that is to store it underground in Pi Gelilot. This will take nine months, during which period we will have to look for other sites - which we have not found so far - and also work out safety issues.
\"Fuel, on the other hand, is less dangerous. The government decided that within 90 days all the fuel will be transferred to other depots, and I am confident that the Court will respect our decision and allow the installation to remain open until the end of that time. During these three months, we will be trying out alternative sites - unlike with gas, we have some possibilities, but they have to be looked into. We will also have to check the ramifications of the tankers\' extra travel time on our highways.\"
Blumental said that gas tankers are always parked in the protected Pi Gelilot installation, and that similar regulations for fuel trucks are under consideration.
The Ministry and the companies claim that the closure of Pi Gelilot creates a very dangerous situation, in that more tankers will have to travel more time on the highways in order to reach other depots. In the meantime, the government decided yesterday that the site must be closed within three months.
Deputy Minister of Infrastructures Naomi Blumental explained to Arutz-7 today some of the issues involved in closing Pi Gelilot:
\"First of all, there is a difference between gas, which is very flammable, and fuel, a fire of which can be swiftly put out. Regarding gas, we [the Infrastructures Ministry] had been working on a plan for a while, which the Cabinet adopted yesterday, and that is to store it underground in Pi Gelilot. This will take nine months, during which period we will have to look for other sites - which we have not found so far - and also work out safety issues.
\"Fuel, on the other hand, is less dangerous. The government decided that within 90 days all the fuel will be transferred to other depots, and I am confident that the Court will respect our decision and allow the installation to remain open until the end of that time. During these three months, we will be trying out alternative sites - unlike with gas, we have some possibilities, but they have to be looked into. We will also have to check the ramifications of the tankers\' extra travel time on our highways.\"
Blumental said that gas tankers are always parked in the protected Pi Gelilot installation, and that similar regulations for fuel trucks are under consideration.