At least 18 arson suspects arrested over Israeli fires

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that 18 people had been arrested on suspicion of starting fires outside Jerusalem, with one allegedly caught in the act of arson, as the country battled possibly its worst ever wildfires.

- MAROOSHA MUZAFFAR

“This is perhaps the largest fire ever in the country,” Jerusalem’s district fire department commander Shmulik Friedman told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

While the exact cause of the fires near Latrun was still unclear, Mr Netanyahu said the blaze was “not a simple thing”.

“There is harm to nature and also harm to people, and we are holding 18 people at the moment who are suspected of arson, one of whom was caught in the act,” he said.

The Jerusalem Post earlier reported that a 50-year-old man had been arrested for allegedly trying to start a fire near southern Jerusalem. The man, from the Umm Tuba Palestinian Arab neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, was reportedly caught with a lighter, cotton wool and other flammable materials after police received a tip-off.

Two other people had been arrested along with him, the news outlet said, without providing details. They were suspected of either starting or exacerbating the fires.

The wildfires near Jerusalem have forced evacuations and road closures and prompted Mr Netanyahu to declare a national emergency and request international aid. The fires started on Wednesday, spread rapidly due to strong winds and scorched vast forested areas.