MUCH OF NORTHERN ISRAEL is burning; at least some fires were caused by arsonists.
At least some of the arsonists are alleged to be Muslims.
Interestingly, the “Palestinian Authority” has offered to send fire trucks to aid Israel in fighting the flames. The PA has helped in the past.
At the same time, some Muslims distant from the fires are celebrating, claiming Israel is getting what it deserves.
There are some rabbis in Israel also “celebrating” the fires, claiming it is HaShem’s punishment for failing to keep Shabat or the abandonment of parts of Israel to the PA.
Fires in Israel are nothing new, and there is, according to
PA Muslims or Israeli Muslims — or anti-Israel Jews?
Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan said it was estimated that roughly one half of the fires were deliberately set by Arab arsonists.
Police have arrested eight individuals believed to be responsible for some of the fires over the past three days.
The eight are suspected of operating across northern Israel, setting multiple fires in the midst of a long dry spell, which, along with strong winds, has made for rapid spreading of blazes around the country.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) said Thursday evening that he would consider every option available to him to punish the arsonists responsible for the series of fires that broke out in Haifa.
Apparently suspecting that Israelis are among the arsonists, speaking in Haifa Thursday evening, as the number of evacuees topped 85,000 in a fire that reached 8 neighborhoods in the mixed Jewish-Arab city, Deri said the Interior Ministry would use all of the tools at its disposal to punish those responsible, including possibly stripping the arsonists of their citizenship.
Arutz Sheva reports that About half of the 200 wildfires raging across the country were "deliberately set," according to Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan.
A number of people have been arrested on suspicion of setting fires, and students from a yeshiva in Haifa spotted an individual attempting to start a fire near their yeshiva.
Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu called the arsonists who set many of the wildfires terrorists.
Help from the outside
In addition to the PA sending fire trucks — realistically to assure the fires don’t spread to its territories — a number of countries are contributing firefighting equipment.
According to the i24 web site, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, US, France, UK, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Croatia, and Russia are sending aid to Israel.
Israel, which frequently sends teams to assist countries in crisis, has for the first time found itself on the receiving end of significant foreign aid which includes assistance from several Arab nations.
Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and the Palestinian Authority have all joined the international firefighting effort to respond to a wave of fires that have forced some 80,000 Israelis from their homes and burned at least 2,224 acres since Wednesday.
Egypt is expected to send two firefighting helicopters while Jordan will send fire trucks and ground crews to douse flames fed by strong winds and unseasonably dry conditions.
Turkey, with whom Israel recently normalized relations following six-year diplomatic crisis sparked by a deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, offered to send two planes and eight personnel to battle the blazes.
Also on Friday, Muslim nation and Israel's regional ally, Azerbaijan, committed to sending one plane to join the firefighting effort.
Other nations' contributions include:
Croatia: 2 planes and 19 personnel (delivered)
Cyprus: one plane and seven personnel (delivered)
France: two firefighting aircraft (promised)
Great Britain: a helicopter and five personnel (promised)
Greece: three planes and 32 personnel (delivered)
Italy: two planes and 13 personnel (delivered)
Russia: two planes and 19 personnel (delivered)
U.S.: One Boeing 747 "super tanker" (promised)
Now, it’s time for the rains to come to Israel and the region.
