Palestinian detained over possible link to Nataf fire

A Palestinian is arrested and handed over to the Shin Bet security service for questioning in possible connection with a fire that broke out last week near Nataf, outside Jerusalem, officials say.

According to media reports, the Israel Fire and Rescue Services believe the fire in Nataf, which destroyed dozens of homes, was caused by a Molotov cocktail thrown over the security fence from the nearby Palestinian village of Qatane.

Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire which broke out at the entrance to Nataf, in the Jerusalem hills, on November 25, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A spokesperson for the fire department declines to confirm the allegation, directing The Times of Israel to the office of Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who also declines to comment.

The police are similarly tight-lipped on the arrest. But the Shin Bet security service acknowledges that a Palestinian from Qatane has been brought in for questioning.

However, the agency says, it “cannot yet connect him to the incident.”

Additional details about the Palestinian suspect, namely his age, are being kept quiet, the Shin Bet says.

— Judah Ari Gross