The annual school trip during which 14-year-old student Elazar Yair Wilensky was killed by the explosion of an unexploded munition at Ramim Ridge had been approved by the Ministry of Education's Situation Room, even though the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) had previously announced that the trail was closed to hikers due to war damage.
In a Tuesday morning report on Galei Zahal (Army Radio), journalist Doron Kadosh said that KKL-JNF had sent a written notice some time ago to the Education Ministry's Trip Coordination Office, operated through the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, clarifying that the area was not open to hikers.
In addition, an explicit warning appeared on the website of the trip coordination system, Moked Teva, regarding the trail where the tragedy occurred: "Hiking at this site is prohibited due to rehabilitation work following war damage."
Despite the warning, the Situation Room approved the yeshiva students' trip along the trail. It remains unclear how the approval was granted, despite the information about the site's closure having been communicated to the authorities responsible for coordinating school trips.
KKL-JNF Chairman Eyal Ostrinsky confirmed to Galei Zahal, "This forest has not been cleared for safety reasons, including infrastructure and burned trees, and we have not yet finished dealing with it."
"Only on June 22 did we enter to begin rehabilitating this forest, and apart from the road itself, which is critical for security forces, all the other areas are places we have not yet finished preparing," he added.
"We passed the information on to all our partners. To the best of my knowledge and understanding, it was also received by the Ministry of Education's Situation Room, which is operated by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. They also recently asked KKL-JNF whether the site had reopened, and the answer was no."
However, it is important to emphasize that KKL-JNF's prohibition on hiking in the area was due to war damage to infrastructure and the forest, rather than a specific warning about unexploded ordnance along the trail.
The Education Ministry responded: "The Ministry of Education acted in accordance with KKL-JNF's restrictions and prohibited activities in the area in question due to war damage. The planned hiking route did not pass through the prohibited area. As part of the trip approval process, explicit safety instructions were also provided, including an absolute prohibition on touching unexploded missiles and ammunition, along with instructions to report any such findings immediately."
"The circumstances of the incident and the route actually taken are currently being examined as part of an investigation by the IDF and police, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and the relevant professional authorities. We must await the findings of the investigation before determining the full circumstances of the incident. In the coming days, the Education Ministry, together with the relevant partners, will continue reviewing the procedures for approving activities and the accompanying safety guidelines."