As Israel celebrates Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day), it faces a new front in the war against the existence of a Jewish State. Palestinian arson around Jerusalem burned about 3,000 acres of precious forest, forcing the evacuations of multiple communities.
Wildfires broke out around Jerusalem on Wednesday, Israel’s Memorial Day, commemorating fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. Intensified by high temperatures and dry winds, authorities were forced to cancel many Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Independence Day) activities. Roads were closed, and several communities were temporarily evacuated. Highway 1, a major thoroughfare connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, was shut down. Fires were also reported near Hadera and Israel’s Coastal Plain.
Magen David Adom said it had provided treatment to around 23 people, 13 of whom were taken to the hospital, the majority suffering from smoke inhalation and burns. Among them were two pregnant women and two infants under a year old.
The military says four Israeli Air Force C-130J Super Hercules heavy transport planes operated overnight, dropping over 95 loads of fire retardant material. The IAF also sent ground firefighting teams and dozens of heavy construction vehicles to prevent the fires from spreading.
The Home Front Command and Technological and Logistics Directorate also provided more than 50 fire engines and drafted reservist firefighters to assist with the efforts.
Ahead of the fires, calls went out on Arabic social media to set fires to disrupt Israel’s Independence Day festivities. One post shared online by Ayelet Lash, an open source intelligence activist from Rehalim in Samaria, read: “Set fire to the earth beneath the settlers’ feet.” It featured a drawing of a man wearing a keffiyeh starting a fire near a field on a hill overlooking burning homes.
Another message on the Palestinian channel Shehab, which is affiliated with Hamas, said: “There are popular calls to set fire to forests near the settlements.”
Another message circulated on X across several accounts stated: “Your role is to set fire to gardens, vehicles and everything around the settlements.”
Knesset member Zvi Sukkot sent a letter to PM Netanyahu calling for a curfew to be enforced on Arabs.
“As the fires spread, calls are being published on Arab networks to ‘set fire to the occupied forests and settlements,’ and there is a real concern, based on past experience, that Palestinians will attempt to set additional fires in Judea and Samaria and throughout the country,” Sukkot wrote.
Israeli police reportedly arrested at least 18 Palestinians on suspicion of arson related to the fires.
In the wake of the arson attacks, Israel365 set up an emergency fund to plant trees to replace what has been lost.
