Police have arrested two Palestinians on suspicion of causing a destructive fire in the northern West Bank settlement of Havat Gilad over the weekend.
The pair, arrested overnight, were transferred for interrogation over the blazes that destroyed 13 houses and damaged dozens more Saturday afternoon.
Investigators said yesterday that an initial probe indicated the fire was sparked by an unextinguished cigarette butt flicked to the side of the road, as law enforcement began working to track down the vehicle it was thrown from.
According to an Army Radio report from yesterday, security agencies assessed that the blaze was sparked unintentionally. After ruling out nationalistically-motivated arson, the Shin Bet withdrew from the investigation and left police to deal with the probe, the outlet said.
Police say officers are still weighing whether to request to keep the two detainees in custody, and will come to a decision based on the interrogation’s findings.
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