Palestinian Authority Arabs, in a rare incident of cooperation with Jews, helped put out a blaze after a bus caught fire near the home town of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Nokdim, several miles east of Efrat and south of Jerusalem.
No one was injured in the fire, which broke out due to a mechanical failure as the bus was traveling to Nokdim. The bus driver and passengers were evacuated. PA rescue crews arrived at the scene after a Jewish first response team reached the scene.
The road to Nokdim is lined with Arab villages and is a frequent target for rock-throwing terrorists.
PA Arabs in eastern Jerusalem as well as Judea and Samaria frequently have stoned Jewish ambulances and fire trucks, even when they arrive to help Arabs.
General Director of the Civil Defense in Bethlehem, Ibrahim Ayesh, told the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency that a citizen reported the fire on the emergency hotline. He explained that the rescue team continued to help extinguish the fire, even though it was on a Jewish bus in what they consider PA territory, because of “humanitarian” obligations.