Road closures expected ahead of Sharon funeral

Sharon’s funeral and commemoration ceremonies will mean the closure of several roads throughout the morning and afternoon as the casket travels from the Knesset to Latrun Junction, and on to the Sycamore Farm in the western Negev.

After a Knesset memorial ceremony at 9:30 a.m. in Jerusalem, Sharon’s casket will be taken at 11 a.m. to a ceremony at Latrun Junction, in the hills west of the capital, where Sharon fought and was almost killed in 1948 and where the casket will be saluted by the Israel Defense Forces General Staff in a brief ceremony.

The route of the casket will lead to road closures starting at 11 a.m., when police will seal off Route 1 leading out of the city to Latrun, Route 3 from Latrun to Soreq junctions, Route 6 to the intersection with Route 40, Route 40 to Bet Kamah Junction in the central Negev, Route 293 from Bet Kamah westward, and all routes around the Sycamore Farm area, including Route 334 between the Ibim and Sdeh Tzvi junctions.

Earlier Monday, Route 1 into Jerusalem was closed from 6:30 to 8 a.m. in order to allow the unimpeded arrival of US Vice President Joe Biden’s convoy from Ben Gurion International Airport to his Jerusalem hotel.