The Union of Local Authorities (ULA) two-day warning strike against government budget cuts was set to continue Monday, with most municipalities closed to the public. Garbage will continue to be left uncollected, and schools that cannot function without municipal staff will be forced to close.
Fire trucks line up on Route 443 on Sunday morning, after police prevented them from carrying out a plan to block traffic into Jerusalem by traveling slowly on major arteries leading into the capital.Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski
The mayors and council heads of more than 100 municipalities were scheduled to convene for a demonstration in Jerusalem on Monday morning. They planned to bring along a convoy of garbage trucks aimed at disrupting traffic in the city, though an attempt by fire trucks to similarly disrupt traffic on Sunday was thwarted by police.
Residents are urged to call their local 106 hot line to find out which services are available in their region.
The strike was planned to be a demonstration of force by the local authorities and a prelude to an extended strike that the ULA has announced to take place after Succot.
However, the strike suffered a serious blow Sunday when a majority of the country's cities decided to allow schools to operate normally.
ULA chairman Shlomo Buhbut said the large cities left them "bleeding in the field."
On Sunday, more than 80% of the pupils in the country were in school and other services, such as parking enforcement and garbage collection, were disrupted to widely varying degrees. In Jerusalem, all municipal operations functioned normally.