Plan to save cliff hits stumbling block (Israel)

The city of Herzliya is planning to create a wall of boulders at the base of the Apollonia beach cliff in order to prevent it from crumbling further and to preserve the Crusader ruins on top, reports Ha'ir-Tzomet Hasharon. But the wall would also prevent public access to the beach and is being criticized as a "brutal" and unworkable solution to the erosion problems in the area.

According to the report, Herzliya's planning and construction sub-committee decided on the dramatic solution recently despite vehement opposition from the city's green party. The coordinator of the green party's Sharon Forum, Dror Ezra, said the planned boulder wall would cover almost the entire beach and prevent public access, while rock falls would still continue from the top of the cliff.

"This brutal project is a crude intervention in one of the most beautiful pearls of any Israeli beach… Destroying the Apollonia beach to save the fortress is like cutting off someone's head to save their heart," Ezra said. He said that all Herzliya's beaches need a thoughtful multi-year plan that would involve bringing in sand and materials to compensate for the narrowing of the beaches caused by the city's marina.