Israel Police and the Police Internal Investigations Department (PID) have reopened the criminal investigation into the 2021 Meron disaster, in which 45 people were killed. The probe had been frozen when a state commission of inquiry was established. Haaretz reported the move on Thursday, November 12.
After Years of Delay
Meron Disaster Criminal Probe Reopened
Police and the Police Internal Investigations Department plan to question several non-political officials under caution, following a petition and the state commission's recommendations.
According to the report, senior law enforcement officials were briefed on the decision in late October. Investigators intend to summon several people involved in the disaster for questioning under caution. None of them are members of the political echelon.
The framework for the renewed investigation was drawn up over recent months in a series of meetings. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, the State Attorney's Office, the PID and the police took part. The decision followed a petition by the Beyachad association, together with Yom Kippur War veterans of 1973 and the Civic Democratic Movement, demanding that the investigation file be reopened.
The State Commission of Inquiry into the Meron Disaster had recommended to the attorney general that criminal proceedings be resumed. In its final report, published in March 2024, the commission stated that the sending of warning letters to certain individuals does not absolve them of criminal, disciplinary or public responsibility.
Among its recommendations, the commission called for examining whether to open criminal investigations into several key professional and security figures. The first was Amer Khalilieh, the site's engineer, on whom the commission placed personal responsibility for the disaster. Another was Superintendent Shmuel Piamenta, who served as licensing officer for the event and whose case the commission described as "particularly severe." The commission also named Reuven Ben Gal and Shimon Malka, who were the security managers at the time of the disaster.
Pressure to resume the investigation grew after commission member Maj. Gen. (res.) Shlomo Yanai turned to the Ombudsman for the State Prosecution, Judge Menachem Finkelstein, when the attorney general failed to report any progress on the case.
In December 2025, Finkelstein sharply criticized the delay. He said it "is unacceptable and causes undue suffering to those injured in the disaster and to the families of the victims, who have been waiting for years for the law to be enforced."
The disaster struck during Lag BaOmer celebrations on Mount Meron in 2021, when 45 people were killed in a crush. The tragedy shocked the entire Jewish people and led to the establishment of the state commission, which examined the circumstances of the event and the responsibility of various officials.
The renewed investigation comes after years of waiting by the families of those killed and by the injured, who have repeatedly demanded that those responsible be brought to justice. With the move now advancing in the State Attorney's Office and the police, the case appears set to reach the practical stage of summoning suspects for questioning.
