Bennett at Ben Gurion Airport: "Israel is not being managed - and the public is paying the price"

Following the chaos created at Ben Gurion Airport due to the workers' committee strike, the chairman of the "Beyad" party and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived at the scene and said:

"The State of Israel is not being managed in any field. There is a government here that is being blackmailed from all directions, by union functionaries, Likud functionaries, Haredi functionaries, and the one who always pays the price is the Israeli public. To the people of Israel I want to say - soon this nightmare will end. We will remove the government of chaos, we will return to managing the State of Israel. We will not be blackmailed, and no one can blackmail us, because we do not owe anything to any pressure group. We will serve only the Israeli public that works and serves. Very soon you will see here a functioning, good, normal state. Together we will fix it."

Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the "Yashar! with Eisenkot" party, also responded to the chaos at the airport:

"The chaos at Ben Gurion Airport on one of the busiest days of the year is not an isolated event, it is a reflection of the failed management culture of the Netanyahu government - chaos and disorder, lack of management and lack of responsibility. A lack of interest by the Israeli government in the lives of the citizens and above all a lack of leadership."

"A responsible Minister of Transport would currently be on her way to Ben Gurion Airport and convening an emergency meeting to provide an immediate response to all the tens of thousands stuck at Ben Gurion. But it is only natural that the failed Minister of Transport is as usual not in the country... The citizens of Israel deserve leadership that takes responsibility, stands up to challenges and knows how to handle systems from the ground up," he added.

The chairman of the Democrats, Yair Golan, wrote: "The Minister of Transport is vacationing abroad while the citizens of Israel are stuck at Ben Gurion. A government that is supposed to manage a functioning state cannot disappear in a moment of crisis. It needs to be here, to work, to solve problems and to take responsibility. Soon we will fly them home, we will take the wheel into our hands, we will return to the state leadership that works for the citizens, we will fix and build everything they destroyed."

The chairman of the Histadrut published that he is "updated and involved for some time in the manpower distress at Ben Gurion Airport and its consequences for the port's work during peak days." "However," he wrote, "contrary to reports, the chairman of the Histadrut was not a partner in any initiative to shut down work at Ben Gurion Airport, and no directive in this spirit was issued by the Histadrut or the Transport Workers' Union. After he learned about the incident today, the chairman of the Histadrut spoke with the chairman of the Israel Airports Authority workers' committee, Pinchas Idan, and received an update from him on what is happening on the ground. In the conversation, the chairman of the Histadrut instructed him to do everything possible to resolve the crisis that was created and to assist the traveling public."

The chairman of the Histadrut further wrote that he "gives full trust to the workers' committee and its head, that they will act responsibly and in the best way for the workers and the traveling public. At a time when Ben Gurion workers are on the ground, unloading suitcases, providing service to passengers and working around the clock to deal with the loads, there are those who prefer to brief reporters from air-conditioned offices and try to roll the price of the lack of preparation for the summer loads onto the workers and the Histadrut."

After reaching an agreement between the Israel Airports Authority and the workers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that "Ben Gurion will remain open and will work as usual. Whoever stands in the way - will fly home."

However, despite the announcement of a return to gradual activity at Ben Gurion starting at 15:00, only at 16:00 did the workers return to work in full capacity, and the disruptions are expected to continue for many more hours. The Israel Airports Authority said that "it was agreed that a significant effort will be made to increase the manpower capacity and provide a response to operational needs. With the return of the workers to full activity, the activity at Ben Gurion resumed gradually. However, given the accumulated load, it will take time to release the pressure and return fully to routine."