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The Labour and Welfare Minister has said that necessary railway maintenance work will resume during the upcoming Jewish Sabbath.

Minister Haim Katz made the announcement yesterday, although he was circumspect over the extent of the work.

He said: “On the Sabbath, essential maintenance work will be carried out in order for train traffic to operate as usual in the best and safest way for all its passengers.”

He told Yediot Ahronot that “every case will be examined in its own right” and that “work that there is no other choice but to do it on the Sabbath will be done. At the same time, the sanctity of the Sabbath will also be kept”.

Earlier this week, Israel’s High Court ruled that only Katz, rather than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has the jurisdiction to halt railway maintenance work on the Jewish Sabbath.

The issue has been the cause of significant political tension over the past two weeks. The leaders of ultra-Orthodox parties within the coalition, – Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who heads Shas, plus Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and Finance Committee Chairman MK Moshe Gafni, both of United Torah Judaism (UTJ) – have raised deep concerns with Netanyahu over the issue. They regard such work as a desecration of the Sabbath and have indicated that it could imperil their place in the coalition.

The three ultra-Orthodox leaders released what appeared to be a conciliatory joint statement yesterday, which said: “We are working together with full cooperation in order to ensure that the honour and holiness of the Sabbath will be maintained as it has been since the beginning of the state, and we hope that with god’s help it will continue to be.”

However, other issues regarding ultra-Orthodox demands over Sabbath activity are also poised to increase tension. On Sunday, a committee headed by Prime Minister’s Office director-general Eli Groner will meet to discuss the opening of commercial businesses on the Sabbath in Tel Aviv, which is permitted via a 2014 municipal bylaw.