Who Will Investigate the Latest Disaster: Police, IDF, Education Ministry, or Government Committee?

Following the death of a 14-year-old boy and the injury of another in a recent incident, questions are arising about who will lead the investigation and bear responsibility. The incident involves multiple entities, including the Education Ministry, which approved the trip, the IDF, the local authority, and the police. Prime Minister Netanyahu visited an injured youth at Rambam Hospital. Given that a fatality occurred, a police investigation, in cooperation with the IDF, is expected. The IDF was responsible for clearing the northern area of cluster bomb remnants after combat.

Past incidents offer a precedent for how such investigations are handled. In April 2018, nine teenagers died in the Nahal Tzafit disaster, involving the Bnei Zion pre-military academy. After that tragedy, a government inquiry committee, headed by retired judge, was established after a prolonged struggle by the victims' families. This committee, officially named the "Government Inquiry Committee for Preventing Disasters During Pre-Military Academy Activities," received investigative powers. It issued a harsh critique of the Education and Defense Ministries, accusing them of neglecting their duties and abandoning safety oversight for years due to a "regulatory no-man's-land."

Concurrently, an internal inquiry committee of the Academy Council, led by former Police Commissioner Shlomo Aharonishki, was formed. This committee developed recommendations for safety and management protocols for academy field trips, including connecting academies to the Education Ministry's trip coordination office and establishing safety training for staff. In the Nahal Tzafit case, the head of the Bnei Zion academy, Yuval Kahan, was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of 10 counts of causing death by negligence.