Probe rules out arson in massive Jerusalem-area blazes – report
Contrary to rumors blaming wildfires on Palestinian arsonists, investigation said to conclude blazes flared up from a fire that broke out a week earlier
A fire service investigation team has reportedly 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.
The probe, revealed Tuesday by Ynet, contradicts widely spread rumors blaming the blazes on Palestinian arsonists. However, the Fire and Rescue Service — typically averse to airing its investigations to the public — refused to confirm or deny the team’s findings to the outlet.
The investigative team reportedly found that the conflagrations were reignited from the remains of an earlier wildfire on Holocaust Remembrance Day, about a week prior.
A former high-ranking fire service official described the phenomenon to Ynet, explaining 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 added that firefighters should continue to inspect the area for at least two weeks after the fire to prevent the possibility of another outbreak.
Allegations that the wildfires were sparked intentionally by Palestinian nationalists picked up steam soon after the blazes broke out on Memorial Day. The claims were echoed by right-wing journalists and politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During an Independence Day speech, as the fires were still raging, Netanyahu claimed that police had arrested 18 people on suspicion of nationally motivated arson. The remark surprised law enforcement, which clarified it had only made three arrests in connection with the fires.
One of those arrested, a 19-year-old from East Jerusalem’s Issawiya neighborhood, 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, and that he also had a pipe and tobacco on him at the time of his arrest.
The Times of Israel Community.