Pages

A universe of beauty, mystery and wonder

A universe of beauty, mystery and wonder
©http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/ UNAUTHORIZED USE AND/OR DUPLICATION OF THIS BLOG'S MATERIAL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. EXCERPTS AND LINKS MAY BE USED, PROVIDED THAT FULL AND CLEAR CREDIT IS GIVEN TO OTTERS AND SCIENCE NEWS BLOGSPOT WITH APPROPRIATE AND SPECIFIC DIRECTION TO THE ORIGINAL CONTENT. --- THE FACTS AND OPINIONS POSTED ON THIS BLOG ARE HERE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSE AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS OF THIS BLOG'S ADMINISTRATOR.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

ISRAEL ON FIRE - WAVE OF ARAB ARSON TERROR ON ISRAELI TOWNS AND FORESTS - HAIFA residents evacuated - Homes, nursery school burn down - VIDEO - Palestinians celebrate

©http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/. Unauthorized duplication of this blog's material is prohibited.   Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full credit and link is given to Otters and Science News Blogspot.  Link to this post:  http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2016/11/israel-on-fire-wave-of-arab-arson.html - Thank you for visiting my blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IF THIS CAN BE BLAMED ON THE ISRAELI "OCCUPATION", why is it that Muslims are torching thousands of cars and their own shelters in Europe, blowing up adversaries' mosques in the Middle East, and creating mayhem all over the world?  HOW CAN ISRAEL BE EXPECTED TO MAKE PEACE with Muslims when Muslims themselves are at war with each other and with the rest of the people of the world? 

Forest fire at Geva'ot in Gush Etzion.Forest fire at Geva'ot in Gush Etzion, Israel.
  • People and wildlife are victimized by these acts of Muslim terror.
  • UPDATE:  12 Arabs caught and arrested so far.
  • Authorities admit that at least half of the fires have been terror-motivated.
  • Yeshiva students caught an Arab teen red-handed as he made kindling from cardboard boxes to start another fire
  • A terrorist tried to ignite a fire at a gas station, aiming for an even greater catastrophe.
  • Residents in some cities and communities are being evacuated.
  • Many are in hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
  • People living in zones not affected by the fires are taking in fire refugees.
  • Nursery children rescued as fire ignited school


  • A similar wave of Muslim arson in 2010 killed 42 people.
  • Russia, Cyprus, Italy, and other countries are sending fire-fighting assistance
  • The large city of Haifa, which has made extreme efforts to integrate its Arab population, illustrates what coexistence really looks like, says Middle East expert.  He calls for government action to end Arab leaders' genocidal incitement against Jews.
  • Europe too has experienced several instances of massive arson of wildlife areas in the last few years, where Muslims have been the prime suspects.
  • Torching cars in the hundreds is a recurrent terror activity by Muslims in France, Sweden, and other European countries. 
A fir burns in Haifa, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one of several large fires that dama...
Fire advances on Haifa residences.

A number of arrests have been made by security personnel as Israeli firefighters continued on Thursday to battle blazes raging across the center and north of the country, with communities in the south opening their doors to those who were forced to flee the flames.
 
“It’s likely that there is a nationalist motive in some of the arson cases,” Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh told reporters at a briefing in the northern city of Haifa on Thursday.  “We have a special integrated investigation team that is monitoring everything that is happening across the country,” he said.
 
“I don’t want to get into questions regarding where [we suspect] arson and where we do not. If this is… arson, it could be nationalistically motivated. It’s certainly not just [simple] pyromania,” he emphasized. “And there have been arrests. But Alsheikh declined to share further details.

Continue reading, see more images and watch VIDEO





Smoke from a fire in Haifa, Israel, November 24, 2016.
Helping Haifa residents to evacuate

 

Men hose down wildfires in Haifa, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one of several large fir...
 
Four Arabs from the Palestinian Authority have been arrested so far on suspicion of having deliberately set the fires that continue to blaze across the Jerusalem Corridor.
 
Officials from the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said in a statement they are investigating the possibility that some of the fires are actually terrorist attacks.
 
Earlier in the day, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said in a statement that up to half of the fires raging across the nation were, in fact, caused by arson. High winds and dry weather, he said, meant that a spark as small as a cigarette butt could ignite a blazing forest fire.

Wildfires burn in Haifa, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one of several large fires that d...
Even if saved, smoke damage will be considerable 
 

PANIC IN THE CITY OF HAIFA

Civilians in a vehicle watch as flames engulf trees across the street in Haifa on Thursday, November 24, 2016.


A wildfire roared through parts of Israel's third-largest city on Thursday, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes and prompting a rare call-up of hundreds of military reservists to join overstretched police and firefighters.
A state of emergency was declared. Some 60,000 people were evacuated from their homes, at least 100 were sent to city hospitals suffering from smoke inhalation. More than a dozen neighborhoods were evacuated, local trains stopped running and the local airport was shut down.


A plane drops retardant in Haifa, November 24, 2016.
 
Israeli's police chief Roni Alsheich told reporters that arsonists were suspected of setting some of the fires and that arrests had been made, without elaborating.
 "It's safe to assume that whoever is setting the fires isn't doing it only out of pyromania," he said. "It's safe to assume that if it is arson it is politically-motivated," meaning it was another case of Arab terror through arson.
 Hesder yeshiva students from the Ohr Yeshu’a Yeshiva in the Neve Sha’anan neighborhood caught an Arab teen red-handed as he made kindling from cardboard boxes to start another fire, Rotter.net reported. The teen managed to escape, but the students were at least able to put out the fire.
 
Romema, Haifa, in flames
Romema, Haifa, in flames
 Israelis drive past a fire, as areas in southern Haifa were engulfed in smoke, the air thick with ash carried by strong dry winds
 

Spreading quickly due to dry, windy weather, the fire raced through Haifa's northern neighborhoods. While there were no serious injuries, several dozen people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.


A burned house in Zikhron Ya'akov, Nov. 23, 2016

 


Police and firefighters were deployed throughout the city, as people loaded up supermarket carts with belongings and fled their homes. Some people connected hoses together from apartment buildings to help battle the fires, while residents held cloth over their faces.


Residents of eight neighborhoods in the northern city of Haifa were told to evacuate their homes on Thursday afternoon, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Or Doron, a spokeswoman for the city of Haifa, said some 50,000 people had been evacuated.
 A fire burns in Haifa, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one of several large fires that dam...
 
Michal Schanin, a professor at the University of Haifa, was in the middle of a lecture when she received word that she and her 70 students would need to evacuate. She said that while the evacuation was orderly, the flood of cars fleeing the area caused a traffic jam.
 
"We couldn't move. If, God forbid, there would have been fire there it would have been one huge trap," she said.

Israelis take pictures of smoke rising from bushfires in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa on November 24, 2016.
Hundreds of Israelis fled their homes on the outskirts of the country's third city Haifa with others trapped inside as firefighters struggled to control raging bushfires, officials said.

 
The military said it deployed two search and rescue battalions in order to assist civilian efforts. It also called up about 500 reserve soldiers to back up the police and fire departments.
 
Several roads and schools were closed in some areas of Haifa. Mayor Yonah Yahav told Channel 2 TV there were several fires in his city.
 A wildfire burns in Haifa, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one of several large fires that...


ARSON TERROR

Yahav also said there were indications one of the fires was caused when "someone tossed a cigarette in an area full of oil and flammable fluids" in an industrial zone. 
 
A spokesman for Israel's fire and rescue service, Yoram Levy, told the station that firefighters were working around the clock. He said the fires in Haifa "are probably arson," and that there was an attempt to torch a fire station.
 
Fires near the Paz Bridge, Haifa Bay and the city stadium were reported, with high winds and dry conditions helping the flames to spread.

A plane flies over the wildfires in Haifa, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one of several ...
 
Some 350 firefighters and Home Front Command rescue personnel working with 115 fire trucks battled dozens of blazes across the port city.
 A man uses water to extinguish in wildfires in Haifa, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one ...

 
SAVING CHILDREN AT A NURSERY
 

Students from the Hesder Yeshiva Mevaser Shalom in Haifa ran out to evacuate the nursery school located in the first floor of their building, as the pyroterrorism fire got closer to their building.

The Beit Midrash of Yeshiva Mevaser Shalom in Haifa. Nov. 24, 2016


Having saved the children, the students tried to return to the yeshiva to save the holy books, but it was too late, the building was on fire, and everything was lost.  All the teachers and students are alive and well.  The Hesder Yeshiva combines Torah study and IDF army service in a five year program.

More Arab terrorists caught

Security cameras caught three Arabs trying to start a fire near the city of Ariel using what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail. The three were dropped off by a car, and they then began trying to start the fire.

After starting the fire, they casually continued walking to the Arab village nearby.

Residents from Ariel got there in time to put it out using bottles of water.

The city got lucky because the Arabs didn’t pick a very flammable area and the surrounding brush and trees didn’t catch fire, even after burning for 4 minutes.

They also picked the wrong side of the road to light their fire.
The pyro-terrorists were tracked walking back to a nearby Arab village, and were caught and arrested by security personnel.


Fire in Mei Ami, November 24, 2016.
Fire in Mei Ami

Solidarity - Families living in cities unaffected by the fires are ready to take in refugees.
 
Southern Israeli communities have again swung into action — as they did during prior wars — and are asking families on a pre-arranged list to take in those who were forced to flee their homes.
 
In the northern Negev city of Arad, the S. family told JewishPress.com, “We’ve really got no room, since we moved into a smaller house since that last time, but we might take in a couple. We’ll probably put the kids in the living room; they’re still pretty small.”
 A man watches wildfires in Haifa, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one of several large fir...

 

The blaze was the largest of several fires to erupt across the country in recent days. The rash of fires is the worst since 2010, when Israel suffered the single deadliest wildfire in its history. That blaze burned out of control for four days, killed 42 people and was extinguished only after firefighting aircraft arrived from as far away as the United States.
A huge red cloud fills the sky as an Israeli firefighter plane helps extinguish the bushfire, which authorities believe could have been started deliberately
 
Firefighting aircraft were sent to Israel from countries including Greece, Italy and Turkey as 50,000 of the city's 250,000 residents have been forced to flee





Israel has strengthened its firefighting capabilities since then, buying special planes that can drop large quantities of water on affected areas. Several countries, including Russia, Cyprus, Turkey, Croatia and Greece — were also sending assistance to battle this week's blazes.

 A man on the top floor of an apartment building looks at wildfires in Haifa, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians ...

 

Guy Catlan, who runs a gas station in Haifa, told Channel 10 TV that workers turned the power off and were helping firefighters to prevent the flames from reaching it. "There is a very large quantity of fuel here, it is very dangerous to the entire area, it could be a big catastrophe," he said.

Police said the blazes started early Tuesday morning at Neve Shalom, a community outside Jerusalem where Jews and Arabs live together. Fires later erupted elsewhere near Jerusalem and in the northern Israeli area of Zichron Yaakov.

Flames blazed in the woods around Haifa, as elsewhere, fires were raging in two areas on the outskirts of Jerusalem as well as near the Jewish settlement of Talmon in the occupied West Bank
 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, thanking him for his help in dealing with the fires. The premier's office said Thursday that Russia is sending two large firefighting aircraft to Israel.


Wildfire in northern Israel, November 23, 2016.
Wildfire in northern Israel
 
 
The following is a blog by the website Jewish Press, which keeps track of all new fires, most of them ignited by Arab arson.
 
JEWISH PRESS is blogging the efforts of Israel’s firefighters and security forces as they battle against the flames of pyroterrorism across the country.  Arabs have been caught and arrested in multiple locations setting fires.
 
6:52 PM Fire in woods near Ein Hod
6::49 PM Firefighter evacuated from Neve Ilan, Lightly injured.
6:49 PM Keren Kayemet looking for volunteers with 4x4s to help look for fires.
6:47 PM View from a helicopter above the Neve Ilan area

6:38 PM Fire near Beit Safafa (Jerusalem)
6:04 PM Pre-arson setup found in Derech Karmit in Jerusalem.
5:57 Fire in woods near Nirit, houses on fire. Evacuations have begun.

5:52 PM Prison 6 being evacuated
5:44 PM Fire in forest west of Adura
5:43 Communities in the south opening up their homes to evacuees from Haifa.
 
5:35 PM: Fire in Ein Shofet forest
5:30 PM Fire outside town of Yitzhar
5:25 Damon prison to be evacuated.
 
5:19 PM Fire in Hadera – Givat Olga – not a large fire, no one in danger.
5:21 PM IDF cancels leave. Soldiers to stay on base in ready to fight terror fires.
5:07 PM Fire in park near Nazareth Ilit.
5:00 PM MK Oren Hazan has called for life imprisonment for pyroterrorists.
 
4:55 PM: Firestarter kit found – Students at Hesder Yeshiva Ohr HaYeshu’a in the Neve Sha’anan neighborhood in Haifa caught a youth making cardboard boxes to use as kindling to start a fire at Givat HaShivshevet between the Grande Mall and the Romema neighborhood. The youth fled and the “brush fire” was extinguished.
 
4:50 PM: Ramat Gilad – Land mind explodes due to heat from nearby flames
4:17 PM: Route 55 closes, in the direction of Kedum from Karnei Shomron
3:41 Firefighters trying to keep Highway 1 (Jerusalem – Tel Aviv) open as fire rages near Shaar Hagai.
3:21 PM Fire near Oranit, Yishpro Center / Modiin railway line, Maaleh Livona, Maaleh Efrayim, Har Bracha, Road 55 – Near Nabi Alias.

SEE MORE RECENT ENTRIES TO THIS BLOG AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

Smoke from a fire in Haifa, Israel, November 24, 2016.
 
 
A house in Haifa A plane drops retardant over a Neve Ilan, November 23, 2016. 
 
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Zikhron Ya'akov, November 22, 2016.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, well known for coddling the Arabs at the expense of Jewish safety.
 
 
THIS IS WHAT ARAB-JEWISH COEXISTENCE LOOKS LIKE, SAYS MIDDLE EAST EXPERT
 

With fires raging across Israel, including inside the northern coastal city of Haifa, growing numbers of Israelis believe that many of the blazes were intentionally set – in an attempt by Arabs to take advantage of the dry, windy weather to pursue war against the Jewish state by any means. 

Among the proponents of this view is Dr. David Bukay, a Professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Haifa.  An expert on the Arab-Israeli conflict and a resident of one of the Haifa neighborhoods which was evacuated on Thursday, for Bukay, the fires hit a little too close to home - literally.  In an interview to Arutz Sheva, Dr. Bukay recalled the evacuation.
“Our neighborhood is being completely torched,” said Bukay, “there’s no other way of describing it. We were evacuated two hours ago from the new Romema [neighborhood] to old; now both of them are ablaze and we’ve driven to the Hadar neighborhood. We took ourselves, the computer, some photo albums – and left everything else behind. But the important thing is that we and the children are all safe.” 
While Haifa, a mixed-city with a significant Arab population, has long pursued progressive policies and advocated for multi-culturalism, said Dr. Bukay, Thursday’s firestorm is an illustration of what that approach is yielding for Israeli society.
 
“Today we saw an illustration of what we’re going to get for all of the benefits that we give to the Arabs. The Haifa municipality hires Arabs in all of its operations, and the mayor thinks that this is how we’ll get peace and quiet. Today we see what ‘coexistence’ means to them.”
 

Given the number and timing of the fires across the city, continued, Dr. Bukay, the blazes appear to be the result of multiple Arab arsons.
 
Fires were sparked in four different places across Haifa at the same time. I was worried about something like this happening since Saturday, but I hoped that it would just be a forest fire, but they’ve managed to burn down Haifa. It’s just terrible, it’s outrageous. Where are all the people who claim the Arabs love the Land of Israel? Look at how they’ve decided to burn Haifa; it’s an outrage. Entire neighborhoods are going up in flames, including my own.”
 
The areas burning include some of the most beautiful vegetation in Israel and are posing a mortal danger to small and large forest creatures as well.
 
In response to this criminal behavior, argued Dr. Bukay, Israel must target not only the arsonists themselves, but those who have incited against Israel, including members of the Joint List party.
 
“The investigators will find soon enough that today’s fires were started at four different locations and at the same time. Sadly, these disgusting creatures managed to burn Haifa, and I suggest arresting [Joint List MK] Ahmed Tibi, who warned after the Muezzin Law was proposed, saying that ‘Now you’re going to get it’. I have no doubt that Ahmed Tibi’s words contributed to this.”
 
“He should have been arrested, he’s a dangerous man. He should be put in prison, and all activities of the [Joint List] Arab party shut down. We’re trying to buy them off, we give billions of [shekels] to the Arab sector, as if they’re some poor, disadvantaged [group], but we’re the disadvantaged, not they. Today we got to see what 'coexistence' is like.”

 
 
A fire in Haifa, November 24, 2016.
Vicinity of Haifa
 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3967896/Hundreds-evacuated-bushfires-near-Israels-Haifa.html

 

Social media world wide celebrate fires in Israel
 



RELATED
 
PALESTINIAN INCITEMENT  VIDEOS:  
https://www.youtube.com/user/palwatch
 
ARTICLES BY PALESTINIAN MEDIA WATCH
 https://www.palwatch.org/
 

 
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE is particularly relevant to today's terror fires.


David Shambadal was an electrician who went to a cafe in Jaffa to fix the lights on April 19, 1936.


He was hacked to pieces by a group of Arabs upon arrival.

Right before he was murdered, Shambadal left a message for us, today.

A few hours before his death, Shambadal wrote a stirring poem. His poem was a response to Arabs setting forests on fire and uprooting trees. 

From the Bnai Brith Messenger, August 14, 1936:


But April 1936 was only the beginning of Arabs using fire as a weapon against Jews. 

Arab terrorists didn't just come up with the idea of setting fires. They've been doing it a long time. But the biggest spree of arson occurred in 1936.

From JTA, April 29, 1936:



From JTA, May 6, 1936:



Palcor news agency, May 29, 1936:





Palestine Post, May 31, 1936:


Palestine Post, July 1, 1936:




Now, who loves the land - and who wants to burn it?

Source
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2016/11/david-shambadals-poem-responding-to.html


MORE LIVE BLOG FROM ISRAEL by Jewish Press - November 25, 2016

 3:59pm Fire Threatens Nataf Community
20 firefighting planes are battling the blaze — first row of houses in immediate danger. Evacuation Underway.


2:13 pm All Haifa Residents Allowed to Return to their Homes
The all clear has been given for all Haifa residents to return to their homes. Estimates of 700 burned and damaged homes with 37 totally destroyed.
Police have announced that they have the suspect in last night’s terror arson attack near Beit Meir which nearly destroyed the community.

Over 12 additional suspects in custody for terror arson attacks over the past few days with more arrests to come.
Currently, the primary fire not under control is in the Jerusalem Hills / Shaar Hagay area.

11:11am Fire threatens Horshim Community in Southern Sharon region
15 fire trucks – 7 planes battling the fire. Community evacuated. Heavy winds driving the fire towards the Southern edge of the community.

10:55am Fire in Nachal Kana — Shomron Region
New fire started in Nachal Kana between Nofim and Karnei Shomron.
Forces responding.


10:38 AM Fire near Kiryat Gat Junction and Nahal Sorek on Route 6. Kiryat Gat train service and main road temporarily closed, but now reopened.
9:21 AM  Three Arabs caught overnight trying to start fire near Ariel.
Security cameras caught three Arabs trying to start a fire near the city of Ariel using a Molotov cocktail. The fire department got there in time to put it out and the pyro-terrorists were caught and arrested as they fled into a nearby Arab village.


9:00 AM Yona Yahav, mayor of Haifa estimates that 700 apartments have been damaged in Haifa.
8:10 AM: A lookout saw Arabs throwing burning material from car near Nehogot in Har Hebron.
Attempt to start fire failed. Security forces searching for the pyro-terrorists.



05:30 Firefighting aircraft are also expected to arrive on Friday morning from France. Portugal was approached with a request as well but the response from Lisbon was not clear. Moscow is sending two more planes, in addition to the two that were sent on Thursday night, with the third aircraft capable of carrying 50,000 cubic meters of water, the Foreign Ministry announced. Ukraine has promised to send two firefighter planes as well, and Azerbaijan has said it will send one aircraft.

05:00 Israel received confirmation overnight that its request has been approved for the Global Supertanker aerial firefighter to be flown to the Jewish State to help in the effort to battle the flames spreading across the country. Israel contacted the company that operates the aircraft. A similar plane was flown to Israel in 2010 to assist in the fight against the Carmel Forest fires.

The Boeing-747 Supertanker, operational as of six months ago, is considered the cream of the crop in aerial firefighters worldwide, capable of carrying 74 tons of flame retardant or water, able to generate enough pressure to cause a rainstorm effect, can release eight rounds of the water and/or flame retardant. Currently based in Colorado Springs, this is the only aerial fighter in the world that is capable of carrying on an aerial firefighting battle after nightfall. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Thursday it would take 24 hours for the plane to arrive from the United States. “We only use it in extreme situations,” he said.

04:30 A Jerusalem District Police spokesperson says forces are making a final search through the remaining homes in Beit Meir to ensure none of the residents are trapped or have otherwise not yet been evacuated. No injuries have been reported. There were reports that a number of suspects were spotted and appeared to be injured but fled from the scene. Forces are searching the area. Jerusalem Regional Commander Nitzan Yoram HaLevi is carrying out a situation assessment at the on-site command headquarters together with all relevant emergency response agencies.

Firefighters have managed to slow down the pace of the fire and to push it back towards the outskirts of the community. Aerial firefighters will resume battling the flames from the skies above the moshav at first light. In the coming days, police and firefighters will mark seam lines between the forested areas and the rural communities to establish permanent aerial coverage areas and identify sources of fire in the earliest stages possible.

03:59 Fire officials are going door-to-door to check each home in Beit Meir, making sure there are no residents who are trapped or otherwise remaining in the homes, many of which have already been damaged by the massive fire engulfing the community. Hundreds of firefighters are streaming towards the besieged moshav to help battle the flames.

03:30: Officials report that 25 fire trucks and some 60 firefighting teams are on site to battle the roaring fire that has already damaged a number of homes. Firefighters are doing what they can to save the rest.

03:17 The entire community of Moshav Beit Meir is being evacuated in order to ensure that everyone remains safe, as firefighters battle the huge blaze that surrounds and has begun to penetrate the moshav.

03:00 Israel Police helicopter is patrolling the area above Moshav Beit Meir and the general site around the flames, updating the forces battling the blaze from the ground. Forces are evacuating residents from Beit Meir using cars, buses and rescue vehicles. No physical injuries have been reported. A command post has been set up on site.

02:53 Good news in northern Israel, where the flames have been extinguished between Nahaf and the community of Har Halutz. The electricity is back on and residents received the “all clear” to return to their homes. Israel Police and Fire & Rescue personnel remain on alert near the communities.

02:52 Officials from Israel Electric Company arrive on site at Moshav Beir Meir and are disconnecting the power.

02:49 A number of homes have sustained damage from the flames at Beit Meir, and more firefighters are on the way to back up the forces currently on site. Beit Shemesh Fire & Rescue Commander Reuven Yitzchak is on site.
02:31 The Beit Meir fire reportedly began after police identified five Arabs trying to ignite an incendiary explosive device in the forest. It then blew up in the air and caught fire among the trees.

02:26 US Ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro: “As Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, our hearts are with those Israelis affected by the fires across Israel, and the brave firefighters.”

02:10 Fire officials on site at Beit Meir say it is clear the huge blaze is posing a serious threat to the homes in the moshav and have called for backup. Increased numbers of firefighters are on their way to the site. Flames are also threatening the communities at the base of the moshav, and residents of those areas are also being evacuated as well.

02:09 Another fire has broken out close to the Jewish community of Dolev in the Binyamin region. Regional Council officials are urging caravan residents to evacuate their homes as a precaution. Israel Police and firefighters are on site to assist.

02:05 First Turkish firefighting amphibious aircraft reach Israel. Two more on the way.

02:03 Evacuations taking place at Beit Meir a moshav close to Jerusalem and home to Yeshiva Ohr Yerushalayim.

01:59 A massive fire reported at the entrance to Beit Meir.

01:43 Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs tweets: “Devastating fires in #Haifa: #Canada stands with you #Israel; our thoughts with those affected.”

01:42 Terrorists hurled stones at an Israeli driver traveling along the road past the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina. Vehicle damage has been reported. Israeli forces are on the scene.

01:36 Israel Police report the outbreak of a fire in the community of Ka’abia. No physical injuries reported and no damage either. Police evacuated five homes located close to the line of fire.

01:03 The electricity remains cut off in the Galilee community of Har Halutz, where firefighters say the blaze is still out of control. A total of six homes were damaged by fire. Police are patrolling the community in order to protect the belongings and property of the residents, who have all been evacuated to safety. Route 854 at the Karmiel Junction and the road up to Lapidot is blocked in both directions.

00:31 In Nazereth Illit, firefighting teams are working to prevent the spread of flames in the direction of Givat Barak. An additional forest fire appears to be endangering homes in the area, and firefighters have been sent to the site. So far officials have counted more than 40 fires in the Nazareth area since Thursday morning.

00:28 Israel may revoke citizenship of arsonists, sources say.

00:21 Stoning terror attack against an Israeli driver reported on the Hutzat Yehuda road near Tarkumia, in the Hebron region, west of the Jewish community of Adora. Vehicle damaged but no physical injuries reported.

00:16 Currently there are 16 firefighting teams battling the blaze at Har Halutz in the Galilee, with flames still threatening homes in the community, which is now empty of residents who were evacuated earlier Thursday evening. Firefighters are spread throughout the area in an effort to contain the blaze. Five homes are known to have sustained damage from the flames.

00:08 Bnei Zion Medical Center reports a total of 35 fire-related patients arrived at the hospital on Thursday, with 11 admitted for further treatment and the remainder treated and released.

00:07 New fire reported between Kabul and Timna.

00:02 Officials request the public avoid the area of Chevel Megiddo and Ramot Mishna or to the area communities in general or to the nature reserves, the forests, rivers or parks, due to the outbreaks of fire around Mishna Forest.

00:01 Fire reported near the Jewish community of Dolev, caravan residents urged to evacuate. Israeli police and firefighters assisting in the effort on site.
00:01 Israel Police say there have been no deaths or serious injuries reported as a result of the nationwide fires — a major accomplishment. On Thursday alone there were at least 250 fires around the country, making it clear that a number were deliberately set.

The penalty for arson is a 15 year prison term, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked pointed out in a tweet, and she added that if state property or a nature site is involved, the sentence rises to 20 years.

Source
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/live-blog-israel-battles-pyroterrorism-friday-nov-25/2016/11/25/



















 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for visiting my blog. Your comments are always appreciated, but please do not include links.