Panel probing Meron disaster signals Netanyahu, Ohana and top cop Shabtai to blame

The state inquiry into the deadly 2021 Mount Meron crush has sent letters to a number of former and current senior officials signaling that the committee may find them partially responsible for Israel’s worst-ever civil disaster.

Among those receiving warnings are opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who was prime minister in May 2021 when 45 people were killed in a crush of bodies during an overcrowded pilgrimage in northern Israel.

Police chief Kobi Shabtai, Likud MK Amir Ohana, who was public security minister at the time, and northern police commander Shimon Lavi, who stepped down last month, have also received letters, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

Rescue forces and police at the scene after a mass fatality scene during the celebrations of the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer on Mount Meron, in northern Israel on April 30, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)

“Our view is that those holding senior positions, who had wide and significant authority, need to bear responsibility in accordance [with those roles],” the state panel probing the disaster says.

The panel says those receiving warning letters are “liable to be negatively impacted by the inquiry’s work or findings.”

While the notices indicate who the panel thinks should be blamed for the deaths, they come in advance of a final report, which will only be published once those who received warnings are given a chance to plead their case to the committee.