Probe said to rule out arson in massive Jerusalem-area fires

A fire service investigation team privately concluded the huge fires that devastated the Jerusalem hills earlier this month were not caused by arson, but rather a flare-up from a wildfire a week prior, Ynet reports.

The Fire and Rescue Service, averse to publicly airing its investigations, refused to confirm or deny the team’s findings to the outlet.

The day the fires broke out, on Memorial Day, politicians and ministers lent credence to quickly spreading rumors that Palestinian arsonists intentionally sparked the conflagrations.

Instead, the flames were reignited from an earlier wildfire on Holocaust Remembrance Day, the team reportedly finds.

A former high-ranking fire service official explains to Ynet that “tree roots often smolder beneath the surface for weeks after a fire.” Strong winds can then “feed the fire with oxygen and reignite the ground.” He adds that firefighters should continue to inspect the area for at least two weeks after the fire to prevent the possibility of another outbreak.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed during an Independence Day speech that police had arrested 18 people on suspicion of nationalistically motivated arson. The remark surprised law enforcement, which had only made three arrests in relation to the fires.

One of the detainees, a 19-year-old from Issawiya, was arrested for rejoicing over the blazes on social media and posting calls to go out and light fires, but was not suspected of actually committing arson.

Another detainee, 63-year-old East Jerusalem resident Riyad Abu Tir, was released to house arrest days after he was apprehended.

Officers said they nabbed him with an igniter and combustible materials, sharing a photo of a lighter, cotton wool and tissues they found on his person. But Abu Tir’s lawyer argued that his client had gone to the area to smoke, adding that he also had a pipe and tobacco on him at the time of his arrest.