Firefighters stepped up efforts over the weekend to extinguish the wildfires that have been scorching large swathes of the country. Unseasonably dry weather and strong easterly winds helped kindle the fires, which erupted on Tuesday of last week and stretched across central and northern Israel. Even though most of the blazes were under control at the moment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the situation is far from over, as the dry weather conditions continue to challenge the firefighters battling the flames. “The events are not over yet, as we just received an update of a fire near Zichron Yaakov and other areas that look like they are waking up,” said The Israeli leader, who took the opportunity, during his weekly cabinet meeting, to thank various international governments that sent firefighting jets, and other aid in joining Israel’s efforts to battle the flames: “I would like to thank the governments that sent aid via firefighting jets, pilots and firefighters.” Israel has received assistance from Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy, Russia, Turkey, the United States, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.
A senior police source said that out of 90 fires being investigated throughout Israel, about 30 to 40 were caused by arson. The police has arrested 29 suspected arsonists to date, two thirds of whom are Arab Israelis. Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan emphasized that those arsonists will be brought to justice and will dealt with in the same manner as terrorists are dealt with. “For over a week the state of Israel has been dealing with a wave of fires that some of which were caused due to negligence or the forces of nature, and, much to our dismay, some were a result of terror on a nationalistic basis.” / “The terror we experienced this past week together with negligence and the forces of nature begins with the incitement online, and this incitement and incitement as a general atmosphere, a single accountable factor does not exist, nor did a terror organization lead the arsons, nonetheless the same way we experienced this past year the terror of knife attacks, this terror of lone wolves, and the same way we understand that the threat on our Homefront is rockets and missiles that cross border, car ramming’s and shootings, we have to see in the same way the arson terror which we are dealing with now,” said Erdan.