Bedouin man cleared over sarcastic Facebook arson post

State prosecutors have reportedly closed the investigation into a Bedouin man who was arrested last month for writing a Facebook post that mocked anti-Israel arsonists, but was misinterpreted by police.

In his sarcastic Facebook post, Anas Abudaabes, a 24-year-old social activist, intended to condemn those supporting the spate of wildfires on social media.

The Arabic post was written in overly dramatic language, and apparently meant as satirical derision of those who were hailing the blazes ravaging the country. He was arrested two weeks ago. In the post, he called for a boycott of Turkey for helping Israel extinguish the fires, and called for hooligans to make sure fires burn down every forest in Israel. The post ended with the hashtag “Sarcasm, not serious.”

Police had pounced on Abudaabes, a resident of Rahat in southern Israel, hauling him in for questioning and keeping him in custody for three days.

The Beersheba Magistrate’s Court ordered Abudaabes released last Sunday when police admitted their translation of the Facebook post was flawed, conceding that the post was sarcastic in tone and critical of those in the Arab world encouraging the fires

In the wake of the wildfires that authorities estimate burned some 130,000 dunams (32,124 acres) of land in Israel and the West Bank, a number of politicians asserted that some of the blazes were deliberately set in nationalistically motivated attacks.

Last week, Netanyahu declared from within Haifa that the wildfires in the city which destroyed hundreds of homes and forced tens of thousands to flee, were “arson terror.”

He threatened to strip the residence status of arsonists, while Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called for demolishing their homes, as is sometimes done to Palestinians accused of terrorism against Israelis.

As of last week, police had arrested at least 35 people on suspicion of arson or incitement to arson, but have not indicated how many were suspected of setting fires and how many of inciting others to do so.

By Saturday, just 10 people remained in custody for suspected arson, and the rest of the detainees were released unconditionally, Channel 2 reported.

Only two indictments have been filed, one of them for arson, and the other for burning garbage.

There are no suspects in the largest and most dangerous fires in Haifa and Zichron Ya’akov, the TV channel reported, nor are there any suspects — or even definitive proof that arson was involved.

Over the weekend, the head of the investigation into the fires sought to downplay claims that the blazes were started deliberately, casting doubt on politicians’ cries of “arson terrorism.”

“When I don’t know, I say I don’t know. I’m not embarrassed – even ‘I don’t know’ is an answer,” said chief fire investigator Herzl Aharon, according to Channel 2.

“We still don’t know anything. I wish I had a direction,” Aharon said. “I go to a place and get an insight — and then I go to another place and everything changes. This is what you call an illusion of the topography, the bedlam of the mountainous region, and it is very difficult to investigate.”