Six Streams in North Closed Due to Contaminants

The Israeli government announced on Monday that unsafe levels of contaminants have been detected in several streams in popular hiking areas in the north of the country.

The ministries of environmental protection and health said that six streams north of the Kinneret were found in routine checks to contain “anomalous amounts of bacteria,” and ordered them “temporarily closed,” The Times of Israel reported.

The streams named in a joint ministerial statement were El Al, Banias, Zaki, Meshushim, and Jilaboun, and the Jordan River from its northernmost tip to where it empties into the Kinneret.

If they remain closed through Tishrei, it would have a significant impact on thousands of Israeli vacationers who frequent those areas during this time of year.