TABA - Thousands of Israelis who chose to ignore the travel warnings and spend the Shavuot holiday in Sinai safely made their way back into the country, but not before they had to face the scorching heat and impatient crowds at the Taba border terminal.
Major traffic jams formed along the road leading from Taba to Eilat.
Some 14,000 Israelis chose to spend the holiday in Sinai’s beaches and hotels, despite the stern travel warnings issued by the Counter Terrorism Bureau.
“It was very crowded on the Egyptian side of the border crossing. We waited in the sun for an hour-and-a-half,” a traveler told Ynet. “As we drew closer to the gate leading into Israel, the density became more dangerous.”
She said the Israeli terminal lacked organization.
“No one bothered to organize the queue or offer us water,” she said. “On the Egyptian side, the traffic was flowing, but on the Israeli side it was congested and people began to shove one another. One woman passed out.”
Taba Terminal Chief Yitzik Chai dismissed the complaints, saying, “People cross the border within an hour-and-a-half and they have complaints, but they are willing to wait three hours when they cross into Sinai.”
“Everyone came at once at the hottest hour,” he told Ynet. “And in Sinai it isn’t hot? It’s 42 degrees Celsius here; maybe people thought we would toss ice at them so they would cool of.”
Chai said he and his staff did all they could to ease the waiting process.
“We have machines that spray cold water to cool the temperature,” he said. “People who stand in line get upset, but they chose to arrive during the hottest time of day instead of at nighttime. The terminal is open 24 hours a day.”
Many Israelis did decide to obey the travel warnings, as thousands flocked to the Galilee and Golan Heights regions and filled Lake Kinneret’s (Sea of Galilee) beaches.
Some 120,000 people visited the country’s national parks and nature reserves during the Shavuot holiday, an Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority official told Ynet.
