A general strike began in Israel at 04.00 GMT, closing Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, but is due to end soon, at 08.00 GMT. Flights were brought forward to avoid the shut down, but it is not clear when scheduling will return to normal.
The decision to allow the strike go ahead was taken by the National Labour Court, which debated the issue through the night following the collapse of talks between the Histadrut trades union and the Department of Finance. The strike is over the working conditions of hundreds of thousands of contract workers employed by the government.
