Former Israeli PM denies blame for deadly stampede

JERUSALEM — Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified on Thursday that he bears no accountability for the protection gaps that led to a lethal stampede that killed 45 folks final yr.

The incident, which was the worst civilian catastrophe within the nation’s historical past, befell on Mount Meron in northern Israel throughout a Jewish competition in April 2021. Round 100,000 worshipers, principally ultra-Orthodox Jews, attended festivities regardless of coronavirus rules limiting out of doors assemblies to 500 folks, and despite longstanding warnings in regards to the security of the positioning.

“I didn’t take care of security,” Netanyahu testified to an impartial fee investigating the tragedy, saying he solely stepped in due to the coronavirus pandemic. As for different security gaps or measures, he mentioned, “The prime minister doesn’t take care of that.”

The impartial fee of inquiry launched after the catastrophe final yr is investigating main security lapses and overcrowding on the mountaintop web site and has advisable limiting attendance and revamping security protocols and infrastructure.

In his testimony to the state fee, Netanyahu mentioned that ordinarily the prime minister will not be concerned in preparations for annual celebrations at Meron, however he mentioned he weighed in as a result of coronavirus pandemic restrictions in place on the time.

“I did greater than my predecessors to take care of the problems,” Netanyahu mentioned, when pressed about warnings there have been gaps in security rules earlier than the occasion.

In final yr’s incident, a whole lot of individuals bottlenecked in a slender passageway descending the mountain, and a slippery slope brought about folks to stumble and fall. The ensuing human avalanche killed 45 folks and injured not less than 150.

The positioning is believed to be the burial place of outstanding second century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. The annual springtime celebrations are marked by the lighting of enormous bonfires, singing and dancing.

Final week, Israel Police Northern District Chief Shimon Lavi resigned, accepting accountability for the catastrophe.

Netanyahu is at the moment chief of the opposition and hopes to regain the premiership as Israel heads into one other election cycle, what would be the nation’s fifth election in slightly below 4 years.