Unfortunately, Israel is behind in its
capability of firefighting, not because of the skilled firefighters, who are
really dedicated and motivated, but because of the failure of the government to
learn the lessons of the previous Carmel Forest Fire six years ago and improve
the capabilities of the Israeli
Firefighting Brigade by purchasing more
modern equipment. Israel
had appealed to many countries to send resources to help put out the ever
raging fires.
The cause of the large number of fires is not
the weather which is just the catalyst feeding the fire’s capability. It is a
macabre mix of negligence of people, including pyromaniacs of many kinds who
come out of their holes and enjoy the opportunity to destroy.
It just seems to be more than a coincidence that
so many fires were started in many parts of the country almost simultaneously.
It began in Zichron Yakov, south of Haifa, Haifa, Jerusalem, Shaar Hagai, and
other towns which were not even close to each other. It is obvious that arson
must have been involved. The word “arson” is a hot potato and according to
reports from the police and Israeli Intelligence, Palestinian terrorism
is involved. A number of Palestinian suspects have been arrested according to reports and it is still not clear as to whether this
new form of “eshtifada” ( a word coined by Ehud Ya’ari, TV Channel 2
correspondent and expert in Arab affairs. It is a combination of the word “esh”
which is “fire” in Hebrew and “intifada” which is the “uprising”) is intifada taking
on a new trend, replacing the lone stabbings and cars ramming of Israelis. This
is not proven.
The Palestinian lone wolves carrying out these
acts of arson do not have the support of the Arab Community in Israel or even
the Palestinians in the West Bank. the Palestinian
Authority have even sent four contingents of firefighters to help put out the
blaze that is engulfing many parts of the country. Apparently, the Arab social media praising these acts of arson
are from outside Israel and Palestine with the exception of Hamas that encourages this form of terror. The condemnation of these acts came from
all sectors of the political spectrum including the Joint List in the Knesset.
The Arab Knesset Members condemn those responsible just as much as everybody
else and demand severe punishment for those responsible . It is
unfortunate that the extreme racist, right wing are making political capital
out of this tragedy that affects all Israel’s peoples.
It has been encouraging to us all that the Arab
Communities of many Arab towns have offered their hospitality to all Israelis,
whose homes have been destroyed by the fire, irrespective of whether they are
Jewish or Muslim, to stay in their homes until they have somewhere to live. It
is a disgrace for many people to come to the conclusion that the Arab citizens
of Israel are responsible for the arson collectively. We must condemn this
attitude entirely! It is morally unacceptable!. Many Israeli Arabs are
also fighting the fires heroically in the Israeli Firefighting Brigade as well
as being members of the Police Force. The implications of collective guilt on
the minority groups in Israel are a terrible outcome of this massive fire. The
oversea response to Israel’s call for help has been remarkably positive in the
response, including from neighboring Arab states.
Having said all this, we cannot overlook the
fact that the government has been negligent in retrospect for the inability of
the Israeli Fire Brigade to be more effective in putting out the massive blaze
that has affected so many parts of Israel. As mentioned earlier, the Carmel
Forest Fire six years ago cost the lives of 44 people; in this case, about 150
people were mildly injured mostly because of smoke inhalation and shock. There
was fortunately no loss of human lives. This is a great consolation of course.
Nevertheless there was tremendous loss of property and homes. The evacuation of
over 75 000 people from their homes saved their lives.
The Israeli Government is to blame and Netanyahu
should resign. This brings to mind the spending of money on four extra
submarines for the Israeli Navy, which according to the previous Defense
Minister, Moshe Yaalon, was not necessary. If this money went to the purchase
of more firefighting, state of the art equipment, including firefighting
aircraft for the Fire Brigade, the loss of property and destruction would have
been minimised.substantially and it may not have been necessary for Israel to
appeal for help from other countries, which resulted in delays until the
firefighting aeroplanes arrived.
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| Fires in Israel: Thousands evacuated amid row over 'arson intifada' |
To date, the massive fires raging all over the country are under control and 1700 families have lost their homes in the blaze.
Our hearts go out to the victims who have become homeless and hope that they
will receive compensation for the loss of their homes.
According to latest reports, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians are responsible for arson attacks.
According to latest reports, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians are responsible for arson attacks.
