Israel Police say preparations are complete for Saturday evening's meeting between Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv at the Miriam Stadium in Netanya, and have published a detailed set of instructions for supporters ahead of the 20:30 kick-off. According to the announcement, reported by ONE, hundreds of officers, stewards and security guards will be deployed around the ground and in the surrounding streets from early afternoon.
Entry will be tightly controlled. Gates open at 18:30, and everyone arriving will pass through what the force describes as rigorous screening, with supporters urged to come early and follow instructions. Access to the stadium area is restricted to ticket holders, and no tickets will be sold on the day.
Weapons are barred outright, with no facility to deposit them at the gates. Alcohol may not be brought in, anyone judged to be under its influence will be refused entry, and flying drones during the match is prohibited.
The sharpest warnings concern pyrotechnics. Supporter displays require prior approval from the police and fire service, while flares and similar devices are banned altogether — the police statement calls them a danger to life, warning that setting them off can bring a 3,000-shekel fine and criminal proceedings. Throwing or igniting anything towards the pitch, it adds, is an offence that could halt the game.
A separate instruction bars balaclavas, neck gaiters or any garment that obscures identification, on pain of a 500-shekel fine and refusal at the turnstiles.
Traffic around the stadium will be reorganised from the afternoon. The eastern and southern car parks close entirely and the western car park is reserved for invited guests, with supporters directed instead to parking at Cinema City, Gan Tzipor, the HaTzoran car parks and the Naimi Mall. HaYahalomim Boulevard will be shut in both directions from Rami Levy Square to the corner of HaEtztadion Street and Lantos Boulevard, and drivers coming from HaTzoran Street will not be able to turn left towards the ground.
The security posture reflects both the pairing and the moment. Meetings between Beitar and Hapoel Tel Aviv are among the most heavily policed in Israeli football, with the two support bases occupying opposite poles of the domestic game's culture. This one, staged at a neutral venue and listed by fixture services under the Toto Cup programme — the source itself does not name the competition — doubles as a final competitive outing before both clubs open their UEFA Conference League second-round qualifiers on 23 July, Beitar against AEK Larnaca of Cyprus.
The clubs will not be strangers for long either way: the fixture list published in June sends them straight back into each other's company on the opening day of the Ligat ha'Al season on 22 August. For now, the police message is plainer. The force closed its announcement by urging supporters to obey officers and stewards, avoid physical or verbal violence, and preserve, in its words, "a sporting atmosphere and an enjoyable experience for everyone".
Hours before kick-off, the operation produced its first arrests. Five suspects — one minor and four adults, residents of the centre of the country and Jerusalem — were detained by officers of the Netanya station during preparations around the ground, according to the police account as reported. Two were found carrying a substance suspected to be a dangerous drug, while the other three were held over suspected involvement in a violent incident. All five were taken for questioning at the Netanya station; neither weapons nor pyrotechnics featured in the account of the arrests.
