Trash bins placed as barricades on Rehovot's Nordau Street during Shabbat sparked a dispute between local officials and municipal leadership over unauthorized street closures.
The bins blocked vehicle passage. After a resident posted about the blockage on social media, Yaniv Markowitz, who chairs the city council's opposition faction, demanded that municipal director-general Yosefa Haliba intervene. Markowitz noted the barricades lacked approval from the city's transportation committee or council, the bodies required to authorize Shabbat street closures.
City patrol vehicles removed the barriers, but residents replaced them. Markowitz called on authorities to identify those responsible and prevent recurrence.
The municipality denied approving any street closure and said it views such blockages seriously. A city spokesperson said the incidents "appear to be a prank by children," though those involved have not been identified. Municipal patrols cleared the obstructions each time they were reported.
"Public space belongs to all city residents, and no individual or group has authority to block thoroughfares," the municipality said.
Mayor Matan Dil instructed officials to increase patrols on Nordau Street in coordination with Israel Police and to identify those involved before the following Shabbat.
