Israel's the High Court has rejected a petition submitted by the owners of a company that supplies beach parties in the Carmel region. The petitioners asked the court to protect them against municipal inspectors who kept fining them for keeping their equipment near the sea. The petitioners claimed that they only set up tents and other moveable items, none of which are permanent and prevent the public from enjoying the environment. They argued that the beaches where they were operating were never declared by the Carmel Regional Council as official bathing spots.

Rejecting these arguments, the court ruled June 15 that the beach was in principle a public resource, and as such, no commercial activity should take place there without authorization. No businesses may infringe on the public's right to enjoy the beaches, and there must be no activity that generates vehicle traffic bringing in equipment and certainly nothing that generates significant sound or light or produces more trash than general public usage.

The court referred to another argument by the Justice Ministry on the protection of nature in the Neve Yam stretch of beach, near the Bonim nature reserve, where many tents were removed by inspectors. Once the tents and other event supplies were gone, the Ministry of Environmental Protection reported an increase in the number of sea turtle eggs laid there, clear proof that human activity had been damaging the turtles’ habitat and of the need to protect it.

The ruling has enabled the authorities to continue enforcing regulations against keeping commericial equipment on the beaches for extended periods. Tents erected for events and celebrations will not be tolerated, nor equipment such as loudspeakers, light systems refrigeration units, cooking facilities, chaise lounges and other structures.