Last update - 00:00 14/05/2007
Court approves regulation to limit entrance fees at beaches
By Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
The High Court of Justice approved a new regulation limiting entrance fees to Mediterranean Sea beaches. According to the regulation, local authorities that wish to charge an entrance fee to beaches will have to make a formal request to the Interior Ministry.
The request will then be examined according to criteria such as the number of free beaches in the local authority and the ratio between these beaches and those which charge an entrance fee.
The new regulation, which was reached in an agreement between the Interior Ministry and the The Israel Union for Environmental Defense (Adam Teva V'Din), is supposed to ensure that a reasonable amount of beaches will remain free of charge.
This new policy comes in the wake of a petition filed by the environmental group which was against the proliferation of access fees at public beaches.
The regulation also requires authorities to send a request for fees charged for other beach services such as playgrounds.
Parking fees at beaches will be allowed, however only if it does not prevent pedestrians from reaching the beach. Beaches that cannot be reached by foot will only be allowed to charge for parking if they arrange public transportation or open a free parking lot as well.
The Adam Teva V'Din organization said that the regulation is a marked improvement and gives the public freer access to beaches.
The environmental organization has also petitioned the high courts regarding the Kinneret beaches, however a decision has yet to be made on this matter.