Arson (illustration)
Arson (illustration)Flash 90

A fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon just hours before the start of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) within the boundaries of Beit Haggai, a town located just south of Hevron in Judea.

The flames spread out rapidly in the direction of the town's "youth village," where classes and activities for youth are held.

Threatened by the blaze, the IDF post in the town was evacuated so as to avoid the fire. Full control was achieved over the flame by firefighters within an hour of so after it broke out.

There are heavy suspicions that the fire was a case of Arab arson, and not simply an innocent brush fire.

Strengthening those suspicions are two cases of arson fires that were set just adjacent to the town last month.

Just half-a-day before the fire, an Arab terrorist's body was found just near the community after he apparently blew himself up in a bungled attack on Israeli citizens.

After residents found large rocks placed on the road leading to Beit Haggai - in a common terror tactic meant to turn Israeli cars into sitting ducks for an attack - an IDF patrol was brought in to comb the area. Several minutes later, a loud explosion was heard. 

Searches conducted uncovered the body of a terrorist; in his hand was an improvised explosive device that he apparently intended to throw at an Israeli car, in a nefarious plan that literally blew up on him.