New video shows blockades at Meron passageway half an hour before disaster

New video of the tragic crush at Mount Meron earlier this year shows blockades limiting traffic being placed at the site about half an hour before the incident that killed 45 people unfolded.

The video, which was revealed today during testimony at the state commission of inquiry into the event, the worst civilian disaster in Israel’s history, shows people passing through the partly blocked passageway that was later the site of the tragedy.

היה מחסום שגרם לאסון מירון, או לא היה מחסום?!
תיעוד וידאו חדש מצורף, מגלה שלפחות בפרקי זמן מסויימים, כן הוצבו מחסומים, בדיוק במיקום בו התרחש האסון pic.twitter.com/nBHehU5k2m

— meni shwartz מני גירא שורץ (@menishwartz) October 7, 2021

The blockades can not be seen in the video that is available of the tragedy itself, and it is unclear if and when they were removed and if they contributed to the disaster. It is also not immediately clear who authorized the blockades to be placed there.

Authorities working at the site on April 30, Lag Ba’omer, have claimed in testimony that there were no such blockades in place.