Police kept busy: Dozens of kiosks closed for alcohol, drug offenses; MDA paramedics treat people injured in 30 violent incidents.
By BEN HARTMAN
Police deployed in force Friday night as part of nationwide efforts to fight drunk driving and underage drinking during New Years celebrations.Over the course of the operation, traffic police arrested 250 people, 150 of them on intercity highways, and the rest within Israel's cities.RELATED:Fireworks in Sydney, ball drop in NY ring in 20112 dead, 1 injured after shooting in Shuafat refugee campAcross the country, dozens of minors were stopped for being in possession of alcohol, including 50 in the Galilee region alone.Magen David Adom paramedics said they treated people injured in 30 violent incidents over the course of the night, as well as 70 cases of alcohol poisoning. Around half of the cases occurred in the Gush Dan region.In the days leading up to New Year's, police and the anti-drug authority carried out a wide-scale operation against kiosks in Tel Aviv and elsewhere suspected of selling alcohol to minors and trafficking in controlled substances, in particular the upper "hagigat" and marijuana substitutes "Mabsuton" and "Mr. Nice Guy." Over the course of the operation, dozens of kiosk owners were arrested and court orders were issued shutting down their businesses over the course of the New Year's festivities.