It appears as though the Israel Carmel Fire sparked two cases of arson, stoking the flames even higher.
After the first fire broke out in the Mount Carmel region, two additional fires in separate locations started consuming acres of forest land in Israel, investigators are reporting at a press conference. While the first large fire was believed to be caused by negligence (2 teen boys), the fire brigade is not ruling out arson. Suspicious objects at one of the two other fire focal points include an abandoned bike and a wig.
Here is what the Jerusalem Post is reporting:
Police have said that additional fires in Kiryat Bialik and Tivon were both caused by arson.
A separate wildfire was reported Friday afternoon in a field near Route 70, in the southern Carmel mountains near Bat Shlomo (south of Haifa). Route 70 was closed to traffic in both directions.
Earlier on Friday, police found a bike, and a wig inside a bag near a fire center in Tzur Shalom, leading them to believe that the fire was caused by an arsonist or arsonists.
Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the Post that there are 3 fire centers – Tzur Shalom, the Atlit – Tirat Hacarmel area, and the Carmel hillsides.
In one, Tzur Shalom, north of Haifa, “we located suspicious items pointing to arson. As for the other two major fires, it is too early and the incidents are too large in scale to know their causes at this stage.”
The death toll in the fires rose to 42 on Friday, according to Army Radio.
This is one of Israel’s biggest environmental catastrophes ever. The fires, still raging, have wiped out more than half of the Carmel Forest, a UNESCO protected natural heritage site whose wounds, if they ever recover, will take decades to heal.
But there is a lingering suspicion on the ground that the flames of two additional wildfires in Israel have been stoked by arsonists as a new form of terror. Environmental terror. I hope it’s not true. If so, I’d call for an international day of mourning our planet for the level at which humanity has sunk.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist and publisher that founded Green Prophet to unite a prosperous Middle East. She shows through her work that positive, inspiring dialogue creates action that impacts people, business and planet. She has published in thought-leading newspapers and magazines globally, owns an IoT tech chip patent, and is part of teams that build world-changing products to make agriculture and our planet more sustainable. Reach out directly to [email protected]
These forests were once inhabited by Palestinians who were expelled in 1948 and whose villages were destroyed without a trace. Umm al Zeinat, Jaba’, Ijzim, Ayn Ghazalle, the list goes on. Non native pine forests were planted on a landscape of destroyed villages, olive, almond and caroub trees in order to cover the crime of ethnic cleansing. AB Yehoshua once wrote about his reoccuring nightmare in which these forests burn down and the crime of expelling the Palestinians becomes bare for all to see. Good riddance to the colonial settler ‘little Switzerland’ in al-Roha of Jabal Karmel, Palestine, as that area was called by the people who once lived there.
Ahaa XD thanks for informing me 🙂
Can I know why my comment about caring about forests in Pakistan was deleted ?????? arenot They also affecting our one atmosphere ??????
Maybe you had too many hyperlinks in the post? More than one gets tagged as spam.
Regardless of politics, it is never good to celebrate catastrophe; even Turkey, despite the Mavi Marvara show down earlier this year, has shown that politics takes second place.
Also, when forests are destroyed, we lose important carbon sinks (in addition to its aesthetic value), and since we have only one atmosphere, that has international implications.
A few years ago a woman set fire to an important forest in Arizona, USA. She was sentenced to six years in prison. If this is arson, I suspect who ever is responsible will be in BIG trouble. Think about what this is costing 13 countries to fight!
This is about forests, not people. Colonies? This space is a protected Bioreserve. The majority of the people who benefit from it are Druize.
And Ohh in between..this beautiful country is so called >> Palestine !
Oh Yeaaah !! You Guys are really pissed off and worried about that fire set on !! Did You ever think about the fire your armies put on everydayy in other houses and towns ,,turning them into ashes !
What an attitude !
I dont believe that Israel canot put down this fire I think that they are the ones who made it to free more space to build colonies
I visited this wonderful country just last month. My group visited Mt. Carmel and areas nearby. I am sickened by this, and that there is suspected arson makes me furious. These forests are the only natural forests in the country. The Israelis prize those forests. I pray for those who did this evil and I pray the God of grace who can bring miracles will bring the much-needed rains.
“But there is a lingering suspicion on the ground that the flames of two additional wildfires in Israel have been stoked by arsonists as a new form of terror. Environmental terror. I hope it’s not true. If so, I’d call for an international day of mourning our planet for the level at which humanity has sunk.” Yes it’s amazing what people will to just to profit. Greedy globalists