Police were gearing up for potential clashes with ultra-Orthodox pilgrims expected to try to ascend Mount Meron, after authorities drastically scaled back Lag B’Omer festivities at the northern shrine due to war-related gathering restrictions.

On Sunday morning, law enforcement announced the closure of all roads leading to Meron amid repeated Hezbollah violations of a ceasefire, scuttling plans for an annual mass pilgrimage to the site that would have taken place Monday evening.

Mount Meron — thought to be the resting place of the 2nd-century Jewish sage Shimon Bar Yochai — typically draws some 100,000 revelers each year to pray and light bonfires on Lag B’Omer. The holiday coincides with the Hebrew date of the rabbi’s death.

Though the general public is barred this year from attending three pared-down bonfire lightings set to take place Monday, thousands of Haredi pilgrims already arrived in the area in the days leading up to the holiday.

According to Channel 12, some 20,000 were estimated to be within the area police closed off, most of them staying at bed and breakfasts, guest houses and other temporary lodging.

Officers locked down the area Sunday and were ostensibly keeping non-residents from entering Meron, but nevertheless refrained from vacating those who had already arrived in the area.

Meanwhile, young Haredi men were seen hopping fences late into the night in an effort to reach the area, flouting police restrictions.

The longstanding tradition at Meron has suffered in recent years amid increasingly frequent flare-ups with Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Past closures have sparked fierce clashes between police and Haredi worshipers attempting to break into the site.

Despite two alternate bonfire lighting ceremonies scheduled to take place in Jerusalem, many Haredi Jews were determined to reach the northern shrine. Some planned to make the journey ahead of the holiday, then return home before Monday evening.

On Sunday, an anonymous group put up fliers in ultra-Orthodox areas promising special “self-defense” equipment for those who planned to travel to Meron and feared police violence. The advertisement promised “helmets, pepper spray and tasers” to all who arrived at specific locations in........

© The Times of Israel