Proposal would ban drinking in parked cars after 11 P.M.

Drinking alcohol in a parked car will be considered public drinking and will therefore be banned after 11 P.M., under a Public Security Ministry proposal paving the way for a Knesset vote.

The goal is to prevent people from continuing to drink at tailgate parties, said the ministry's legal adviser, Yoel Hadar.

Under the ministry proposal, released last week, police are authorized to confiscate alcoholic beverages being consumed in public after 11 P.M.

But though the proposal expands the definition of "public" provided by the cabinet, it tones down the sanctions called for in the legislative amendment the cabinet approved two weeks ago.

The cabinet's plan called for the immediate closure of any business selling alcohol to minors without the consent of a parent or guardian, or without a license for selling alcohol after 11 P.M.

However, the Public Security Ministry proposal states that police should warn businesses for their first offense. Under the proposal, police are authorized to shut down businesses for 15 days for a second offense within two years of the warning, and 30 days for a third offense.

The proposal states that the closures are designed "to intensify the deterrence against selling alcoholic beverages illegally, especially for businesses where this prohibited phenomenon takes place repeatedly."

Expanded alcohol regulation is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's five-point plan to combat violent crime and alcohol abuse in Israel.

The plan, which he laid out in September, also includes stiffer penalties for violent crimes and the use of closed-circuit cameras in dozens of cities.

"Alcohol is a national epidemic," Netanyahu said at the time. "We are relatively low in alcohol consumption and violence, but we are on the rise and that trend must be stopped."