Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel s environment reporter.
Police officers receive instructions at Nitzanim beach in southern Israel before joining volunteers to help clean up tar from an oil spill, February 22, 2021 (Menachem Fried/Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
In an extraordinary move Monday, a Haifa court slapped a seven-day gag order on the investigation into the source of a huge oil leak that has polluted Israel’s entire Mediterranean coast with tar.
The ruling by the Haifa Magistrate’s Court came at the request of the Environmental Protection Ministry, which is probing the spill. The order prohibits publishing any details that may identify suspects, vessels, relevant ports, cargo and shipping lines.
Israel slaps gag order on oil spill probe
Court approves ban on releasing key details including name of vessel believed to have leaked oil into sea off Israeli coast, port of origin and destination; state claims such information could cloud investigation into Israel s worst environmental crisis
Ahiya Raved, Ilana Curiel |
Published: 02.22.21 , 14:45
A gag order was issued Monday on the details of the investigation into the massive oil spill that has polluted the majority of Israel’s beaches, at the request of the Environmental Protection Ministry.
The heavy pollution and the subsequent widespread ecological damage that has shut all but two of Israel’s beaches to visitors is believed to have been caused by a massive oil spill from a foreign ship passing close to the coast of Israel last week.
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During a portion of the spring lockdown, group prayer was barred altogether. It was later permitted outdoors for limited numbers of people. The police policy on enforcement of the guidelines has not been entirely clear. The police refused to provide Menachem Stauber, a lawyer representing all of the worshippers from Modi’in Ilit, with the criteria that they use in deciding when to cancel a fine, saying that “the directives are currently being developed.”
Stauber, who represents nearly 100 clients who have been cited for coronavirus health regulation violations, said that in nearly every case in which citations have been issued to a group of people, some of them were later dropped.