Story perspectives

Netanyahu Caps Meron Pilgrimage at 1,500 Amid Hezbollah Attacks

4/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Lag B’Omer pilgrimage at Mount Meron to be limited after security assessments.
IDF Home Front Command capped gatherings at 1,500 8 p.m. on April 27, while Mateh Asher Council head Moshe Davidovich said northern towns will halt schools and transport.
Hezbollah rockets and drones kept striking northern Israel despite the ceasefire, while MK Meir Porush and Yossi Deitsch warned might travel to Meron despite a 1,000-person cap.

History

Historical Context

The 2001 Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing in Jerusalem, which killed 16 civilians and wounded about 130 during the Second Intifada, remains a reference point for Israel’s crowd-control policies and public safety planning. That legacy informs Israeli authorities’ decision to limit the annual Lag B’Omer pilgrimage at Mount Meron to 1,500 participants.

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Story summary

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Lag B’Omer pilgrimage at Mount Meron to be limited after security assessments.
IDF Home Front Command capped gatherings at 1,500 8 p.m. on April 27, while Mateh Asher Council head Moshe Davidovich said northern towns will halt schools and transport.
Hezbollah rockets and drones kept striking northern Israel despite the ceasefire, while MK Meir Porush and Yossi Deitsch warned might travel to Meron despite a 1,000-person cap.

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