Rioters damage light rail system in E. Jerusalem

By Yishai Barak

East Jerusalem light rail, July 7, 2014
East Jerusalem light rail, July 7, 2014

JERUSALEM (TNA) – Arab rioting in east Jerusalem over the past week has left segments of the city in shambles. One of the primary targets of the vandals was the Jerusalem light rail system, which some view as a symbol of Israeli sovereignty in their neighborhoods.

CityPass, the company entrusted with the running of the rail system, conducted a tour to survey the damage on Monday, July 7,  while being secured by the police. Two stations within the Shu’afat neighborhood were completely destroyed. All traffic lights, control systems and ticket selling machines were broken or burned; traffic signs were torn out of their place and shattered. concrete was poured into the rails. There were even attempts to saw down the massive electric polls along the rails.

CityPass’ preliminary assessment is that the cost of the damage stands at millions of shekels, and it is estimated that it will take months to repair the system. Yaron Ravid, CEO of Citypass, is in constant contact with the police, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Ministry of Transportation. Uzael Vatik, CityPass’ spokesman stated: “First of all, we want to fix the rail going through Shu’afat so we can get to Pisgat Zeev and get them back their service.” The 45,000 Israeli residents of Pisgat Zeev were almost completely cut off from public transportation during the rioting.

Citypass’ second goal is to restore the two destroyed stations in Shu’afat. “We must remember that at the end of the day the people that suffer from this situation are the residents who use this train to get to the center of town, and now they cannot. We need to understand that the light rail is a microcosm of Jerusalem. The train goes through Arab and Jewish neighborhoods and they all use it. That’s the beauty of Jerusalem and we need to be careful with this delicate reality. ”

At this stage the train is operating only partially.

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Barak is a writer for the Tazpit News Agency of Israel