A widespread series of fires broke out this afternoon (Thursday) in western Binyamin, and many firefighters are operating in the field in an attempt to bring the flames under control at several locations.
The first incident began at 5:20 p.m., when members of the “Chesed Olam" farm reported an arson attack carried out by Arabs in the farm’s grazing areas.
The fire later spread toward an illegal vehicle scrapyard located on the outskirts of the village of Shuqba, where six firefighting teams are currently operating with the assistance of volunteers and members of nearby farms.
On the other hand, Palestinian Arab sources quickly accused residents of the hilltop communities of setting fire to the lands of the village of Shuqba, claiming that the fire was spreading despite efforts to bring it under control.
The Binyamin Council strongly rejected these claims, describing them as a libel and false accusations that present a misleading picture on the part of the village residents. The council noted that the Arab residents were ignoring the fact that the site in question is a vehicle scrapyard in an area where many stolen vehicles from central Israel are smuggled.
The Binyamin Council emphasized that a video distributed by Arab residents on social media actually completely disproves their version of events. In the video in question, the trail of the fire can clearly be seen leading from the direction of the grazing areas of the “Chesed Olam" farm directly toward the vehicle scrapyard. These findings demonstrate that the fire spread from the area that had previously been set alight by Arabs, and did not begin in the vehicle compound itself as claimed.
At the same time, another large fire began near the village of Janiya in the Dolev-Talmonim bloc and quickly spread to the nearby woodland. According to assessments, the fire began at the village’s garbage dump, and due to the danger posed to the nearby road and concerns that the flames would continue spreading, firefighting aircraft were dispatched to the scene.
Firefighters from the Judea and Samaria District, with the assistance of teams from neighboring districts, are operating in challenging terrain that makes ground firefighting efforts difficult, and the fire has not yet been brought under control.
Binyamin regional commander Deputy Fire Commissioner Shlomi Harush addressed the situation on the ground and detailed the forces’ deployment.
“These are two incidents that began one after the other. In the fire near Talmon, the terrain is challenging and makes ground firefighting operations difficult. As a result, aircraft were dispatched in order to provide a rapid response to the spread of the fire," Harush said.
He added that firefighters are operating on the ground wherever there is access, while investigators from Israel Fire and Rescue Services have begun examining the circumstances behind the outbreak of the fires.