(haipo) – The danger of retaining walls in Haifa: Haifa City Council members from the “Our Home” faction are launching a fierce attack against the city administration, alleging a serious and ongoing failure to address the collapsing retaining walls throughout the city. According to them, this is an immediate danger to life, as despite repeated warnings, the treatment is postponed year after year, and the dangerous walls remain fenced off, without a real engineering solution.
“The writing is on the wall – and it’s collapsing”
According to Etzioni, since September 2025, the faction members have been trying to obtain from the Haifa Municipality a neat list of retaining walls that are in danger of collapse, as well as the work plan to address them, but according to them, no answer has been given so far.
“This is a disregard for human life, period,” Etzioni said. “Year after year, the city administration actually admits that it is endangering the lives of residents, without implementing any measures beyond temporary fencing.”
Same walls, same plans
A comparative examination conducted by faction members of the work plans and development budgets for the years 2024, 2025, and 2026 reveals, they claim, a worrying picture: the walls designated for repair repeat themselves almost unchanged in each of the years. The meaning, they say, is that the walls were not actually treated, despite the immediate risk to the public.
Even the title hasn't been updated.
According to the faction members, the failure is reflected even in the most basic details. Thus, they say, the work plan for 2026 still has a title referring to 2025. “There is no clearer expression of the fatigue and lack of motivation of the city leaders to serve the residents,” Etzioni claimed.
Resident inquiries and documentation from the field
Council member Zeev Sonenzon recounts numerous requests from residents taking photos of fenced areas of retaining walls that are in danger of collapsing.
“I just can’t believe the city didn’t want to fix it right away,” he said. “There are retaining walls in the city that have been waiting years for repair, and every year more walls are added that are in worse condition. The shame has simply been lost.”
Question to the Mayor and Demand for the Comptroller's Intervention
The faction members submitted an official request to the Mayor's Office, demanding a breakdown of the budget allocated for repairing retaining walls over the past three years, how it was utilized, an explanation for the ongoing delays, and a full mapping of all retaining walls in danger of collapse throughout the city. They also call on the city's comptroller to urgently examine the issue.
Call for immediate action
According to members of “Our Home,” continued delay could lead to disaster. “The entire city looks like a dangerous, fenced-off site,” the petition reads. “It’s time to stop talking and start taking action, before anyone gets hurt.”
The entire city is neglected, not just Haifa, but also the suburbs belonging to Haifa,
No proper maintenance for winter, flooding on rainy days, no drainage channels for maintenance that is beneficial to the city,
The road paving in the city is poor, there are potholes on the roads and this causes damage to vehicles,
This city needs to change.
Not really 17 times
Wasn't the previous term enough? We got a mayor for a city that is becoming a third world city, falling walls, terrible roads that even paint them black, and after rain there are potholes and holes, we should sue them for tire damage and retire Yahav yesterday.
New walls to replace collapsed ones should only be built on the final street line after the expansion. After the repair, the cost of the repair should be collected from the owners of the apartments behind the wall.
If the apartment owners want to build in the existing location, they can do it themselves.
A city where cancer incidence is 17 times higher than average... is it any wonder that the lives of its residents are being disregarded?!
The High Court can force the municipality to address the dangers now
There are no retaining walls in Haifa – there is an ongoing engineering failure!
There are almost no retaining walls in Haifa's public spaces. There are stone cladding walls, which were built carelessly, without structural planning and without the required engineering supervision. These are not just isolated failures.
The question is not "if" these walls will collapse - but "when."
Their fate was sealed on the day they were founded.
The Haifa Municipality has been operating for many years without real engineering expertise in the field of retaining walls, and the results are visible: collapses, cracks, displacements – and all until the next disaster.
See the entry "Retaining Wall" on Yad Labanim Road: The wall collapsed violently just two weeks after the veteran municipal engineer submitted an opinion to the municipality confirming its "soundness and stability." This failed opinion is disconnected from reality - it shattered into pieces along with the wall itself. Only by a miracle were there no casualties. In reality - severe damage was caused to the infrastructure, a major traffic artery was blocked, and the reconstruction took about a year and a half. This is not an unusual case - it is a bright warning light.
Self-proclaimed "experts" are trying to blame the rains - it's ignorance and lack of understanding.
A properly designed and executed retaining wall does not collapse from rain. Rain is not a cause – it is only the trigger that reveals failed planning and execution.
The Haifa Municipality must immediately conduct a comprehensive stability test of all retaining walls along Freud Road. A collapse on this busy transportation route is not a theoretical question – it is a life-threatening scenario.
Continuing to ignore and cast responsibility on the "forces of nature" is a grave act of lawlessness.
The writing is on the wall – literally.
Thanks for the comprehensive explanation.
Disrespect for human life. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain how people are allowed to walk on sidewalks in danger of collapse.
The historic retaining walls, some are collapsing, some are crumbling, and some were built well and correctly. Some of the modern retaining walls that have been built and are being built in recent years are dangerous walls waiting for moisture to penetrate or additional ground pressure (swelling of the ground from moisture, tree roots, etc.) or a small earthquake in the form of a collapse that prepares the public. Retaining walls are supposed to be built with high-quality engineering design and in accordance with standards, but some of the new walls do not meet the requirements, in some cases even in construction that supposedly copes with earthquakes, for example, TAMA 38 projects. The lawlessness is not small. The greatest risk is with respect to enormous retaining walls that are part of large, dense projects that destroy the quality of life – slum projects that have become a significant part of the evacuation and construction projects – the new landscape of Haifa – unlike flat areas (coastal plain settlements) – here, sometimes, the mountain is supported and creates a significant safety risk – and in some cases, the supervision of the execution – is lacking – and the public is facing a real danger to life. There is a tension between the desire to make a profit and the desire to save on construction costs, on the costs of the retaining walls, and the Haifa Municipality and the local committee allow this lawlessness and sometimes support and encourage it. In today's Haifa, there is also "innovation "Under Construction" - drinking water pools are being built on the mountain slope - while arranging expensive retaining walls that are intended to bridge the gap between a stable water pool as was common in past years, and new, incorrect and unnecessary planning requirements - dangerous pools supported by retaining walls - which poses a significant risk to the public in the event of collapse and the risk of physical injury and drowning - and when those who oppose these illogical and irresponsible moves are rejected by planning committees that are in fact not functioning. Lawlessness is rampant, they are only looking to count money and harm those who have no valuable objects.
Disgrace and nothing but disgrace, that is the most appropriate word for the municipality's conduct!!!
Millions of shekels are being thrown away in vain, and without any justification, on marginal matters, and for the benefit of a certain public!!!
Why is there a need for a general renovation of all municipal offices, every year???
Idle people called "supervision and enforcement", who only travel with the vehicles, for their own purposes, and for the purposes of their families,
Superfluous clerks and clerks in the municipal offices, who think they came for the promenade and modeling,
Dirt, pollution, full of abandoned buildings and houses, roads and sidewalks in poor condition,
And more and more and more…
All this, plus a security deposit,
And who is guarding???
For municipal offices and municipal employees.
Where is the "security unit" in question? Not noticeable and not terrible in the neighborhoods at all!!!
The residents are not stupid or suckers, they will not buy all the "idle" advertisements that supposedly advertise the improvement of the city.
Residents want personal security in the city, to eradicate the phenomenon of drug addicts as much as possible, and to deal harshly with vandalism in public parks, bus stops, and every alley in the city.
It's time for you to start working properly, especially the "Supervision and Enforcement" department!!!
We are tired of dog feces on every sidewalk and path,
Residents do not need to ask for cleanliness, order, and security in their neighborhoods every day.
A large part of the residents do not leave their homes at all after dark!!!
This is how the daily routine and quality of life of a resident of the city, which is considered the third largest in Israel, should be???
It's a guilt cliché.