Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend a mass prayer in memory of those killed during a stampede at a Lag b’Omer event in the Northern Israeli city of Meron, on May 6, 2021. Photo: Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90

i24 News – The Israeli government will meet on Sunday with an important first decision – the formation of a state commission of inquiry into the Mount Meron disaster in accordance with demands from bereaved families, Channel 12 reported.

Forty-five people, including many children, were killed on April 29 in a stampede during a pilgrimage to the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, where tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered to celebrate the feast of Lag B’Omer.

The first proposal that will therefore be submitted to the government for approval concerns the establishment of a commission of inquiry, which will also be authorized to make recommendations targeting, in particular, former government officials.

An inquiry was not previously launched into the tragedy under the previous government due to opposition from some ultra-Orthodox coalition partners.