An unusual heat wave swept through the country on the eve and during the first day of Passover. The accompanying sand storms and near zero visibility marred the holiday festivities of picnickers and forced the suspension of inland air traffic. The airports at Eilat and Tel Aviv were closed down for several hours and pilots encountered difficulties landing and taking off at Ben Gurion Airport.
Hundreds of cars on their way to Eilat and Sharm el-Sheikh crawled along the highway bumper to bumper because the sand storm made the road invisible. Despite this, there were no traffic accidents in the area, but many tourists were prevented from reaching Sharm el-Sheikh.
In the northern part of the country, wind storms uprooted trees and several traffic signposts. In spite of heavy traffic and poor visibility there was only one fatal road accident. Police reported 16 other road accidents in which a number of people were slightly injured.
In Jerusalem, thousands of Christian pilgrims streamed into the city yesterday to mark the Eastern ceremonies. About 10,000 Christians walked past the 14 Stations of the Cross on their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Christians mingled with Jews going to the Western well for Passover services. Israeli troops and policemen guarded the Christian procession from roofs and doorways of the Old City, but no incidents were reported.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
