Criminal Probe into Meron Disaster to Reopen After Five Years
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Israel's Attorney General has decided to reopen the criminal investigation into the 2021 Mount Meron disaster, which killed 45 people. The probe will focus on professional and police officials, not politicians, and is based on recommendations from a state inquiry commission. The decision follows a petition to the High Court and criticism over delays in implementing the commission's findings.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israel's Attorney General will reopen the criminal investigation into the 2021 Mount Meron disaster.
- The disaster claimed the lives of 45 people during a Lag B'Omer celebration.
- The renewed investigation will focus on professional and police officials, not political figures.
- The decision was influenced by a petition to the High Court of Justice.
- Recommendations from a state commission of inquiry form the basis for the renewed probe.
More than five and a half years after the disaster at Mount Meron, where 45 people died during a Lag B'Omer celebration, law enforcement is renewing the criminal investigation. The probe had been frozen when a state commission of inquiry was established.
The plan to restart the criminal proceedings was formulated in recent months through discussions involving Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, along with representatives from the State Prosecutor's Office, the Police Internal Investigations Department, and the Israel Police. This decision was finalized in late October, following a petition to the High Court of Justice by several organizations, including "Behadash" and "Combatants for Yom Kippur 1973," who demanded the case be reopened.
The renewed investigation will focus on professional and police officials, excluding political figures at this stage. It is based on recommendations from the state commission of inquiry, initially headed by retired Judge Miriam Naor and later by retired Judge Devorah Berliner after Naor's passing. The commission had already determined in March 2024 that a review of reopening criminal proceedings was warranted.
Among the individuals mentioned in the commission's recommendations are Amer Khalilia, the site's safety engineer; Lt. Col. Shmuel Fiamanta, the licensing officer at the event; and security managers Reuven Ben Gal and Shimon Malka.
This significant step follows sharp criticism from commission member, retired Major General Shlomo Yanai, who had complained to the Commissioner for Oversight of the State Attorney's Office, Judge Menachem Finkelstein, about the delay in implementing the commission's recommendations.
Mentioned
