Environmental organizations are mounting a last-ditch effort to prevent national planners from approving some sections of a circular trail around the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, warning that parts of the current proposal will severely undermine the public’s right to free passage.
Adam Teva V’Din and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel contend that the proposal, scheduled for discussion on Tuesday, will leave in place existing fences and walls that were originally erected illegally, blocking the path of people on the trail and effectively reversing years of successful enforcement efforts to open the scenic shoreline.
The National Planning Council is proposing to allow fences, locked gates to remain in place, and institute restricted-access hours and bypass paths for sections totaling approximately four kilometers (2.5 miles) of the 32 kilometers (20 miles) currently under review in the walking trail project’s second stage.
According to Yael Dori, head of planning at Adam Teva V’Din, some of the bypass routes that walkers will be forced to take are located more than 50 meters (164 feet) from the shoreline and run along busy intercity roads with no view of the water.
The stretches under review pass through four church properties and a pilgrim hostel, four kibbutz tourism complexes (at Ein Gev, Ma’agan, Ha’On and Ginosar), national parks and nature reserves managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and several public beaches.
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“Instead of insisting [on public access, the planners] reached a solution that’s not a solution,” Yael Dori told The Times of Israel.
The Church of the 12 Apostles at Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. According to Adam Teva V’Din’s head of planning, Yael Dori, the church has fenced off public land for the benefit of its visitors. (Yael Dori)
“Now they are calling it a ‘regulated’ (authorized) trail. It’s true that people have lived in some of these places for decades and don’t want strangers in their backyards. But some of the buildings near the water are illegal, and now [owners] are complaining.”
Dori pointed to a low fence at Kibbutz Ein Gev that separates residential areas from the hiking path as a model, suggesting that such barriers, or even simple signage and vegetation, could effectively prevent the vast majority of law-abiding citizens from straying into private property. She argued that enforcement should target offenders and noted that in many cases, it was public land that had been fenced off.
She added that the decision not to enter church land was political, stressing that these institutions have also illegally erected fences and buildings.
She suggested that the needs of sports clubs could be met by using two fences running parallel to the lake with gates on either side, allowing boat access while keeping the trail open.
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel stated: “This is a plan that began as an initiative of the Environmental Protection Ministry, the Nature and Parks Authority, and the Society for the Protection of Nature, which in its current version is becoming a document that legitimizes existing blockages instead of removing them.”
The dark blue lines show already-approved diversions from the shoreline. The bright green lines show the diversions currently under discussion, while red lines indicate locations where fences and gates are proposed to be opened and closed at specific hours. Stretches within the city of Tiberias will be decided at a later stage. (National Planning and Building Council).
In a position statement, the organization’s planning policy coordinator, Assaf Zanzuri, wrote that denying the public access to the Sea of Galilee was as unacceptable as putting up fences to keep the public away from Mediterranean beaches.
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel is calling for the National Planning Council to halt the discussion and return the plans to a special committee of experts to ensure the public’s right of access is preserved.
Adam Teva V’Din is threatening legal action.
Dori noted that the National Planning Council had yet to accept any of her suggestions and claimed that a recent decision by the Committee for the Protection of Coastal Environments had “made things worse.” For instance, Kibbutz Ginosar was granted a bypass route even though passage through the kibbutz is currently open, she said.
She warned that the precedents currently being set would likely be seized upon during future discussions for the final nine-kilometer (5.6-mile) stretch through the city of Tiberias.
Yael Dori, head of planning at Adam Teva V’Din. (Courtesy)
An Israel Nature and Parks Authority statement said the organization supported opening the Sea of Galilee’s beaches for public passage, with “creative solutions and balances” applied at specific points and in isolated cases where this was difficult.
An example of a section that bypasses the Sea of Galilee walking trail, and is located next to a main road. (Yael Dori)
However, it added that, in light of Wednesday’s decision by the Committee for the Protection of the Coastal Environment to add a bypass and sections of controlled trails that it could cancel in the future, the authority’s view was that the plan had “not reached the point of balance.”
The issues of disagreement echo a damning 2005 state comptroller report, which highlighted that while most of the Sea of Galilee shores were public land intended for public benefit, approximately 100 fences had been erected perpendicular to the water line, and nearly every beach had been illegally fenced off.
The Sea of Galilee Circular Trail received general planning approval in 2007. Since then, public access to 32 kilometers of uncontentious segments has been approved. Of these, around seven kilometers (4.35 miles) of the trail have been built.
Whatever the committee approves will be made available for public comment.
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