Holiday overcrowding shutters beaches, parks

Authorities are shutting access to most public camping beaches around the Sea of Galilee due to overcrowding by masses of Israeli Passover vacationers flocking to its gravelly shores.

The Union of Kinneret Cities, which administers public beaches around the large freshwater lake, says some 30,000 people are currently on the beaches and parking areas at every one of them are full, forcing them to shut access to all except Dugit Beach on the Galilee’s eastern shore.

The Parks and Nature Authority says some 200,000 people visited its sites Sunday, forcing it to shut the Yarkon and Ein Hanya national parks, near Petah Tikva and Jerusalem respectively. It also restricts vehicle access to Beit Yanai Beach and reports heavy crowding at other sites.