Firefighters again battle blaze on IDF ammo base; arson suspected

For second day in a row, fire breaks out on Nahal Sorek base in central Israel, but no threat posed to munitions stored there

By Judah Ari Gross 10 July 2017, 7:34 pm

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Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.

Illustrative: A firefighting plane dumps water on a forest in the Judean Hills during an exercise on March 29, 2012. (Omer Miron/Flash90)

Firefighters on Monday battled a brush fire that broke out on an army munitions base in central Israel for the second time in as many days, prompting an investigation into suspected arson, the Fire and Rescue Authority said.

This was the second fire on the army’s sprawling base in Nahal Sorek, approximately halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where the military stores its munitions.

However, Monday’s blaze was far smaller than Sunday’s, fire department spokesperson Yoram Levy said.

Twelve firefighting teams and four aircraft were brought in to battle the blaze on Monday, compared to the 18 teams and six planes brought in the day before.

Monday’s fire was brought under control quickly, Levy said, so there was no risk to the weaponry stored on the base.

Levy said the fire department was investigating the possibility that both today’s and yesterday’s fires were the result of arson, as they started at multiple locations around the same time, which is often a sign that a fire was started deliberately.

However, he stressed that the investigations have only just begun and that it is too soon to be certain.

The base is home to the army’s Ammunition Center, which is responsible for purchasing, collecting, storing, fixing, and supplying weaponry, including everything from simple bullets to advanced missiles.

An army spokesperson said she was aware of the fire and that it had been brought under control, but could not immediately comment further.