Fires rage throughout Israel over Shabbat
... Excerpt
26/11/16
Fires in different areas of Israel over Shabbat as 'arson intifada' continues.
On Friday night, all the residents - 350 families - of the town of Neve Tzuf (Halamish) in Samaria were forced to leave their homes after arsonists set fire to 3 different locations throughout the town. Fifteen houses were completely destroyed and collapsed, while 25 other houses were seriously damaged from the flames. Four civilians were lightly injured, including two firefighters. Three firefighting teams from the Palestinian Authority helped to battle the blaze.
A spokesperson for Neve Tzuf said, "The town has suffered a blow tonight, but we're strong and we'll manage to deal with it. The town's welfare staff and the Binyamin Regional Council are working to take care of all the residents' needs."
As well, arsonists reignited a fire in Haifa on Saturday.
The Israel Electric Company disconnected the town, as well as four buildings in Ma'ale Adumim and the towns of Ateret and Nachliel, from the electric grid from Friday night until Saturday morning.
On Friday, arsonists set fire to Beit Meir, near Jerusalem.
25/11/16
Residents of Beit Meir describe the terrifying moments following last night's arson.
Arutz Shevaspoke with residents of Beit Meir about the terrifying and chaotic moments during which the community was engulfed in flames.
One couple related their escape from the burning community: “We got into the car and started to flee the scene. There was a huge fire at the entrance to the community, and we couldn’t get out.
“Hundreds of cars there, and we can’t get out. We saw the fire right in front of us. Terrifying...
“We saw the giant flames right in front of us. After that more firefighting teams started to arrive...
“They cleared the way for us... and we just traveled, without even seeing where we were going.
Another couple noted: “The uncertainty was very frightening...we heard the police yelling outside...in a couple of minutes we managed to be driving out in our car, but the entrance of the community was blocked.”
“That sudden fear that you’re lost....
“There’s a big traffic jam, everything gets filled with smoke...everybody’s choking inside their cars...moments you can’t understand at all.
“Everyone is under pressure the police the army...there’s no water to put out the fires…there were thirty people trapped in a building.”
Residents of Beit Meir, which is just off the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, were evacuated from their homes, including 300 people at the guest house, most of them to the nearby town of Shoresh, others to their families in other places. 25 firefighting crews worked at the scene to extinguish the flames, and succeeded in doing so shortly before 5:30 a.m.
Police have so far arrested two suspects linked to the arson.