Police nab arsonists who caused large fire outside Jerusalem

Two Palestinians have been arrested for deliberately starting a large forest fire in June that forced the closure of the main road to Jerusalem, police said on Monday.

The two, aged 17 and 18 from the village of Qatane, confessed to starting the fire and said the motive for the crime was nationalistic.

The two were arrested last week, though the gag order on the case was only lifted Monday.

Qatane lies just over the Green Line from the Israeli town of Ma’aleh Hahamisha, which was apparently the target of the attack.

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“The distance from Qatane to the starting point of the fire is a stone’s throw and there are indications on the ground that show something was thrown to start the fire,” a police source said, according to Israel Radio.

The arsonists, who are known to police in connection with previous acts of disturbing the peace, were arrested last week and have been remanded in custody for a further eight days.

Police believe they used a Molotov cocktail to deliberately start the fire. The resulting blaze destroyed dozens of acres of national parkland and closed Route 1, the main artery to the capital, for several hours.