President Reuven Rivlin paid visits on Sunday to the community of Nataf in the Jerusalem hills which was badly damaged by fire in the last few days and met with firefighters who came from abroad to help Israel fight hundreds of blazes.
While in Nataf, Rivlin referred to the deliberate nature of some of the fires by saying, “Terror is terror wherever it is found. At the same time, we have to understand that we all live in this land and even when there are individuals who out of an intention to fight another people, or against another religion, people who are extremists and do not hesitate to do anything to fan the flames which have the ability to tear apart, and break down the dam so that we will not be able to live here together, these people must be dealt with, with the full force of the law. Cooperation and partnership – perhaps most important in all that happens to us – our interactions with our neighbors and friends in anything to do with firefighting – even in this house – perhaps point to the fact there is hope, because at the end of the day the threat endangers us all, all who seek to live peacefully in this land. Because we have no other land.”
Addressing the foreign firefighters, Rivlin said, "Until now you were heroes in your own countries. Now you're heroes in our country, our home as well." He concluded, "I don't know if you have been to Israel before yet you demonstrated that your love of humanity has no borders. And of course I would like to invite you to visit here, in our beautiful land, in regular days.”