45 people died

Report blames Netanyahu for mass panic

The stampede took place during a religious gathering.(Bild: AFP)

A commission of inquiry into a mass panic with 45 deaths at a Jewish pilgrimage site in the north of Israel has placed part of the blame on head of government Benjamin Netanyahu. The politician is said to have deliberately ignored infrastructural weaknesses.  

"There is sufficient evidence that Netanyahu knew that the facility at the tomb had not been properly maintained for years and could pose a danger during mass events," the "Times of Israel" and "Haaretz" quoted from the final report on Wednesday.

People were crushed
Around 100,000 strictly religious male worshippers had gathered at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Mount Meron on April 29, 2021, on the occasion of the Jewish holiday Lag Baomer, when a crowd of people started to slide down a steep ramp and participants were crushed. In addition to the many fatalities, around 150 people were injured.

The incident claimed the lives of 45 people.(Bild: AFP)

"Even if we assume, as a precaution, that Netanyahu had no concrete knowledge of the plant, he should have known about it after his office was approached about it several times," says the report by the state commission, headed by a retired judge, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

However, the commission refrained from imposing sanctions on the head of government due to Netanyahu's position. Some of the blame for the catastrophe was also attributed to former ministers and the police.