Dispute over parking spot ends in torching of apartment building in Nahariya

An ongoing dispute between residents in the northern town of Nahariya over a parking spot ended in the torching of their four story apartment building Saturday morning.

According to an initial police investigation, a 56-year-old local known to police torched one of the cars in the building’s underground parking garage. The fire then quickly spread to the entire complex of 20 apartments.

Tenants from the four-story building were evacuated by firefighter teams who were called to the scene. A number of residents became trapped inside and rescue teams had to break down walls in order to save them.

All tenants managed to escape the incident unharmed, according to authorities. Three apartments, four motorcycles, a car, a scooter, and two storage closets were completely destroyed.

The arsonist was placed in police custody and will be brought before a court on Sunday to have his remand extended.

The exact details of the dispute over the parking space and the suspect’s decision to torch the vehicle remained unclear to authorities.