The state commission of inquiry into the Meron disaster held its first day of hearings on Sunday, almost four months after the disaster. Northern District Police Commander Shimon Lavie was the first one to testify. “Meron is the biggest event for the Israel Police and also the biggest for the Northern District that I head.” Lavie then explained the background to the huge crowds at the event: “There hasn’t been a restriction on the size of the crowd in Meron for already 30 years – for safety reasons. Restricting the crowd would create a larger bottleneck at checkpoints outside the event – which could lead to a greater disaster.” Lavie said that there has been “years-long neglect by the various responsible parties and a lack of understanding that the event grew larger over time but the infrastructure wasn’t adequate but a kind of Band-Aid.” “We, the police, should also be investigated,” Lavie asserted. “I have no intention of shirking responsibility. The police were part of the issue. However, other issues must be investigated as well. I’m not blaming anyone here, I’m blaming the process. There were decisions that weren’t approved, a lack of arrangments over many years – and everyone just went with the flow.” Lavie also described what he witnessed that night: “Rows of the dead, screams, police officers vomiting, civilians vomiting and crying. I saw children there also.” “Dozens of people lying on top of each other. Police officers and soldiers and shocked civilians evacuating the injured on stretchers. We brought 50 stretchers from the army. My only thought was to save as many lives as possible.” מפקד המחוז הצפוני, ניצב לביא בוועדת החקירה לאסון במירון: "הייתה הזנחה במשך שנים. חוסר הסדרה של תחומי אחריות, חוסר הבנה לזה שהאירוע גדל עם הזמן והתשתיות לא בהתאמה אלא כסוג של פלסטר. אני מאשים פה תהליך. היו החלטות שלא התקבלו לאורך זמן וכולם זרמו עם העסק הזה"@amotzsh pic.twitter.com/3XmeTDzAez — כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 22, 2021 האסון במירון: ועדת נאור יוצאת הבוקר לדרך. בעוד כמה דקות תחל עדותו של ניצב שמעןן לביא@N12News pic.twitter.com/TQ81e8n9Ft — יובל אראל Yuval Erel (@ErelYuval) August 22, 2021 Retired Supreme Court Justice Miriam Naor asked Lavie if anything drew his attention prior to the disaster. “No one told you that there’s overcrowding by Toldos Aharon?” Lavie: “There were no reports on overcrowding by Toldos Aharon.” “But you had the number 25,000 before the event…and you don’t know the number specified by the licensing engineer, you don’t even have an estimate. But the fact that there’s was huge gap between what the engineer determined and what’s happening in the field wasn’t a red light for you?” “When I say 25,000 people, that’s an estimate,” Lavie said. “Out of a lack of alternative, I evaluate the situation at the event itself. Wherever there is overcrowding at passageways and narrow places, those are the places we have to intervene.” Naor: “That I understand. The question is if it wasn’t necessary to intervene beforehand?” “Let’s say I would want to impose restrictions but I don’t have regulations that were approved,” Lavie responded. “And the day before the event, I realize that there 40,000 people in tzimmerim (guesthouses) who are planning on coming by foot. What do you think I should do [without regulations in place]?” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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