A planned visit by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to a Jerusalem market last week sparked outrage following a last minute cancellation.
Store owners and workers in Jerusalem’s iconic Mahane Yehuda marketplace were outraged last Thursday after the market was shuttered as a safety precaution ahead of Netanyahu’s planned campaign stop, with the prime minister eventually nixing the event at the last minute.
At approximately 2:00 p.m. last Thursday, security personnel closed the Mahane Yehuda market and the surrounding area, preventing customers from reaching shops in the market.
The security lockdown was maintained until roughly 5:00 p.m., spanning some the busiest hours for the market.
Shortly before the visit was set to take place, however, Netanyahu’s appearance at Mahane Yehuda was cancelled.
A day later, Netanyahu also cancelled a planned appearance near the home of MK Naftali Bennett. In that case as well, security personnel were deployed to secured the area for the event which ultimately was not held.