The Jerusalem Fire Service has determined that the fire which occurred last night at the offices of the far-left NGO B'Tselem was caused by an electrical fault, and was not the result of arson.
The fire, which took place at the building housing the NGO's offices on Jerusalem's Mekor Chaim Street in the Talpiot neighborhood, caused extensive damage but no injuries. One person trapped on the fourth floor of the building had to be evacuated by firefighters.
Following the fire, Arab and Left-wing MK all but preempted the investigation, blaming "right-wing incitement" and the Israeli government for causing what they clearly believed was an arson.
MK Zehava Galon (Meretz) and other far-left MKs attempted to tie the fire directly to the government's efforts to enact legislation requiring NGOs funded by foreign states to disclose the sources of their funding.
"If only the fire turns out not to be a premeditated arson... (But) at this point the signs are that it was," she claimed, despite having no insight into the investigation on the ground.
"If indeed the B'Tselem offices were set alight, the arsonists tonight would rightly feel that they have backing from the government," she added. "They can burn the offices, the papers, the archives, but it is impossible to burn B'Tselem. It is impossible to eliminate with violence the struggle against the occupation (sic), for human rights and justice."
The head of the extreme-left Peace Now NGO also weighed in on the "arson," going further still.
"The arson at the offices of B'Tselem in an attempted terror attack which by a miracle did not claim any lives, and those responsible are the government ministers, and at their head Netanyahu.
"When the government labels left-wing organization, there are those who react and attack the targets. The blood of all those who oppose the government is fair game and the next political murder is not far away. The government must stop this campaign of incitement against the Left, and allow the Israel Police to protect left-wing NGOs and organizations from attempts to harm them."