A massive wildfire broke out on Wednesday in Israel in the forests between Eshtaol and Latrun, west of Jerusalem, forcing evacuations and road closures as thousands gathered across the Jewish state for Memorial Day observances. Fanned by high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds, the fire, believed to have been set intentionally, spread rapidly through multiple locations across Israel.
“It’s a terror attack on Israel,” Eli Beer, president of the United Hatzalah emergency response organization, told The Media Line. He noted that fires were started in 20 separate locations. A security source also confirmed to The Media Line that a terrorist act was likely behind the fires, adding that several people had been arrested.
A map circulating in Israeli security circles depicts the locations of the fires, almost all of which are marked on the Israeli side of the Green Line separating the West Bank from Israel and Gaza—not in the areas inhabited by Palestinians. Hamas posted on social media a call for Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel to “burn whatever you can of groves, forests and settler homes” and “set their cars ablaze.”
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