Israeli supermodel's wedding sparks spat over open skies


              FILE - In this May 13, 2015 file photo, Bar Refaeli arrives for the opening ceremony and the screening of the film La Tete Haute (Standing Tall) at the 68th international film festival, Cannes, southern France.    Hoping to avoid the peeping gaze of paparazzi, Refaeli and her fiancé Adi Ezra asked Israel's Civil Aviation Authority to shut down the airspace above her wedding on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Citing safety concerns over potentially congested airspace, the authority agreed. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
FILE - In this May 13, 2015 file photo, Bar Refaeli arrives for the opening ceremony and the screening of the film La Tete Haute (Standing Tall) at the 68th international film festival, Cannes, southern France. Hoping to avoid the peeping gaze of paparazzi, Refaeli and her fiancé Adi Ezra asked Israel's Civil Aviation Authority to shut down the airspace above her wedding on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Citing safety concerns over potentially congested airspace, the authority agreed. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

JERUSALEM (AP) - When supermodel Bar Refaeli ties the knot in a lavish star-studded ceremony in northern Israel Thursday night, the main drama could play out in the skies overhead.

Hoping to avoid the peeping gaze of paparazzi, Refaeli and her fiancé Adi Ezra asked Israel's Civil Aviation Authority to shut down the airspace above the wedding. Citing safety concerns over potentially congested airspace, the authority agreed.

That sparked an angry retort from Israeli Transportation Minister Israel Katz, who said "the skies belong to the entire public and exclusivity cannot be granted for commercial reasons for high-profile people."

After reports emerged that flights would still be restricted, Katz delivered a scathing note to the authority's director, saying "if the skies above Bar Refaeli's wedding won't be open, you will be removed from your post."

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