Scene of the Meron disaster last year
Scene of the Meron disaster last yearDavid Cohen/Flash90

Approximately 11,000 police officers and fighters from the IDF's Airborne Combat Rescue And Evacuation Unit 669 will participate in the operation to secure the Lag Ba'omer event on Mount Meron, Israel Hayom reported.

The week of Lag Ba'omer will begin on May 15.

The Dov Bridge, where 45 people were crushed to death last year, has been demolished.

Police expect over 150,000 people to visit Meron on Lag Ba'omer.

"The efforts are concentrated to ensure zero glitches," a senior police official told Israel Hayom. "We will know about every bus that leaves and comes. Every visitor will be marked, and for the first time we will count the visitors using a special counting system."

According to the official, the limits on the number of people are in accordance with the guidelines which will be signed by the Public Security Minister and Religious Affairs Minister. Israel Hayom was informed that 16,000 people will be allowed at the site at once, and that these people will be replaced every four hours. Unlike in previous years, this time there will be only one bonfire on the mountain, and it will be accessible only by shuttles from the bus parking lots, which were organized ahead of time.

"This is a challenging event," the official added. "I hope that most of the normal population will act in accordance with security considerations. We will prevent those who should not be there from reaching the mountain."

Meanwhile, senior police officials have called on the political echelon to make a national decision ahead of the budget talks and give the police national priority.

"The police are asked to carry out tasks which require manpower, which is not available now," one of the officials said. According to him, recent events have "stretched the police beyond its limit. Police officers are working for weeks already around the clock - and that is before securing the Pope's visit and the US President's visit in June - which will require tens of thousands of people. These are widescale operations to carry out with international sensitivity in light of the security situation."