Automated Parking Fines: How Israeli Municipalities Bypass the Law
A Ramat Gan soldier accumulated 29 parking fines over a year due to delayed notices from automated cameras, exposing widespread illegal municipal digital enforcement.
A resident of Ramat Gan and career soldier received a parking ticket early this year for an infraction that allegedly took place nearly a year prior—362 days before the notice arrived. While the ticket, which was not affixed to his windshield, slowly made its way through bureaucratic channels between the municipality, the leasing company of his military vehicle, and the Ministry of Defense, he continued parking in the exact same spot. Unaware of parking restrictions and the automated camera system monitoring his vehicle's time, he accumulated 28 additional tickets for the same violation, totaling thousands of shekels.
Due to the prolonged delay, the appeal window for most of the fines had closed, legally barring him from requesting a trial. When he approached the Ramat Gan municipal prosecutor to contest or cancel the fines, he was refused. This case, uncovered by Shomrim, highlights the automated revenue-generation machine operated by local authorities through advanced digital enforcement. Such practices turn public spaces into constant surveillance zones, starkly overstepping legal authority and contradicting court rulings and Knesset decisions.
The Missing Authority: Obstruction vs. Standard Parking
To understand the legal gymnastics employed by municipalities, one must examine the law itself. The Knesset never granted local authorities the legal power to deploy enforcement cameras or use them for general parking offenses. The only statutory authority given is under Section 27a1 of the Traffic Ordinance, which permits local authorities to operate cameras strictly for documenting traffic violations and offenses listed in the ordinance's supplement. Supplement 11 limits this strictly to public transportation lanes.
This lack of authority is well-known to mayors and lawmakers. During a Knesset Economic Committee session in June, Mira Salomon, head of the Legal and Knesset Division at the Union of Local Authorities, admitted that camera-based enforcement by municipalities raises issues not regulated by law. She noted that Automatic License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras are used without primary legislation outside of public transit lanes, arguing that only "dumb" cameras lacking database integration are permissible under administrative directives.
Despite this lack of authority, municipalities continue aggressive digital enforcement, relying on what they term "ancillary authority" grounded in a Ministry of Interior director-general's circular (4/2018). This circular was originally intended to allow simple video cameras to help control-room inspectors prevent immediate road hazards, such as double parking or blocked intersections. However, Ramat Gan and other cities expanded this ancillary authority far beyond its intended scope. The tickets issued to the soldier were not for traffic obstructions, but for exceeding permitted parking time under municipal bylaws.
Judicial Rulings and Knesset Pushback
The use of advanced technology for parking enforcement under the guise of ancillary authority violates administrative guidelines and contradicts a ruling revealed by Shomrim and N12 (Administrative Petition 12825-12-24, Cyber Place v. Ramat Gan Municipality). That case included an opinion from the Attorney General emphasizing that ancillary authority cannot override fundamental rights. In that proceeding, Judge Kobi Vardi of the Tel Aviv District Court ruled unequivocally that local authorities have no legal power to use cameras and LPR technology to enforce regulated blue-and-white parking zones.
Recognizing that the ruling threatens massive revenues from digital fines, municipalities have fought back. Following the ruling, the Knesset Economic Committee held heated debates led by MK David Bitan and MK Yaakov Asher, who reiterated the legal limits of local authorities. Bitan made it clear that the Knesset is unwilling to grant municipalities powers for remote camera enforcement of general or regulated parking, emphasizing that electronic enforcement transforms into a pure revenue-collection tool.
Despite clear warnings from the Knesset, Ramat Gan adopted aggressive enforcement tactics based on administrative guidelines that lack sufficient statutory backing. Other cities, however, have chosen a different path. Beersheba Mayor Runic Danilovich recently announced that he ordered a thorough review of digital enforcement complaints, instructed the legal department to show leniency, and suspended all mobile and stationary camera enforcement. Danilovich's actions demonstrate that resolute leadership can rein in municipal revenue machines.
