Israel: investigation points to Netanyahu’s “responsibility” for deadly stampede in 2021
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bears “
personal responsibility
” for the tragedy at Mount Meron in April 2021, where 45 Jewish pilgrims died in a stampede, according to the very severe report of a commission of inquiry published Wednesday March 6 .
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the scene of the deadly stampede on April 30, 2021 at Mount Meron.
AP - Ronen Zvulun
By: RFI Follow
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It is a “
disaster that could have been avoided
”, judges the commission of inquiry.
This tragedy is this
giant stampede that occurred on April 30, 2021
during the pilgrimage of tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews to Mount Meron, in northern Israel.
It was then the largest public event in the country since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The stampede occurred in the men's section.
The results were dramatic
: 45 pilgrims lost their lives, including at least 16 children, and 150 people were injured.
“
A culture of avoiding responsibility
”, according to the report
Benyamin Netanyahu “
knew or should have known that the site (...) had been poorly maintained for years
” and could represent “
a risk for the many participants
” in the annual pilgrimage marking the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer, according to the report. the commission of inquiry.
This considers that the head of government has, with his services, “
the responsibility to identify problems that could represent a risk for human lives
” and “did
not act as one would expect of a Prime Minister to correct this state of affairs
.
Responsible for supervising the operation of public institutions, the state controller's office had, on two occasions, in 2008 and 2011, warned of deficiencies in the site's equipment.
The report points to “
a lack of governance
” and “
a culture of evasion of responsibility
” within the executive.
It also implicates the former Minister of Internal Security and current Speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, and recommends that the police chief, Yaakov Shabtai, be removed from his post.
The conclusions of the commission of inquiry are a new blow for Benyamin Netanyahu, ousted in June 2021 by the Naftali Bennet-Yaïr Lapid coalition government before becoming Prime Minister again at the end of 2022. He was already the subject of strong criticism in Israel for not having anticipated the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which left some 1,160 dead on Israeli territory and led the Jewish state to wage a retaliatory war in Gaza.
The latter, which has been underway for almost five months, has already caused more than 30,700 deaths in the Palestinian territory.
Also read: Truce in Gaza: complicated negotiations, Netanyahu suspected of dragging things out
(
and with AFP
)
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