Asaf Langleben urged the IDF to search hiking areas for unexploded ordnance following a deadly incident, but said local hikes would continue.
Upper Galilee Regional Council head Asaf Langleben demanded in a Monday interview with 103FM that the IDF conduct searches in areas open to hikers following an incident in which an unexploded Hezbollah munition detonated and killed one person while injuring 24.
Despite the incident, Langleben told Ron Kofman and Aryeh Eldad during the interview that he had no intention of suspending hiking activities in the region, while he called on the military to draw lessons and prevent similar incidents from recurring.
"We have just evacuated the children from the area, and they are on their way to Kibbutz Yiftah to meet their families," Langleben said. "Ultimately, the Upper Galilee is one of the most beautiful tourist regions in the State of Israel, and the IDF has been fighting here for three years with a very large number of troops. The combination of those two things proved deadly today."
Despite the tragedy, the council head stressed that hiking activities in the area would continue.
"There is no other way. We need to educate our children through hiking, through a love of the land. That is what everyone has been doing since we returned to the North. I hope the IDF learns from this and draws the necessary lessons, and that this will be the last such incident."
'We don't immediately suspend activities'
Asked whether hikes would also take place within the council's jurisdiction on Tuesday, he replied, "I assume so. We don't immediately suspend activities."
"People have been hiking since the day we returned here. We live here, and our homes are on the border," he added.
Addressing the location of the tragedy, Langleben emphasized that the area was open to the public.
"This is not a closed military zone. It is located along a scenic route. We returned a year and a half ago, and many people have been hiking in our areas in the North."
Council head demands IDF action to prevent another tragedy
Langleben concluded by issuing a firm demand to the IDF.
"We are asking and demanding that the IDF draw the necessary lessons and make every effort to ensure that this incident does not happen again, even if it requires a very large number of soldiers to conduct searches in the area," the regional council head said.
"I don't know all the details of the incident, but beyond the behavior we expect of hikers, our responsibility is to prevent them from encountering unexploded ordnance. We will do everything to make sure this is the last such incident."