Overview
- Police mounted a large operation with checkpoints and roadblocks to intercept worshippers and bus them away from the Meron area.
- Many of those stopped had trekked on foot through roads, forests, and unpaved paths before encountering police cordons.
- Officers halted private cars and reported turning back hundreds of buses that tried to approach the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
- Thousands who reached Mount Meron earlier remain on the mountain, and police say they are not evacuating those already at the site.
- Authorities say the restrictions follow Home Front Command guidance because the Lebanon border is close and Hezbollah rocket fire could put large crowds at risk.