By JPOST.COM STAFF
12/05/2010 11:39
Netanyahu says "firefighting forces are controlling the blaze in the Carmel," says state does not need additional int'l help in North.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu approved halting requests for additional firefighting planes on Sunday based on an air force recommendation that there were currently sufficient resources to fight the fires.
Netanyahu said on a visit to Usfiya on Sunday that "it seems like the firefighting forces are controlling the fire in the Carmel," adding that "other countries took much longer to put out giant fires."
Usfiya Mayor Vajiya Kiuf criticized the government, telling the prime minister that although his town was surrounded by fire, its residents had not received aid.
Earlier Sunday, at a special cabinet meeting in Tirat Carmel, Netanyahu explained, "It must be understood that massive forest fires are fundamentally different from routine fires."
The prime minister added, "The only way to deal with these wildfires is to integrate not only ground forces but aerial forces as well, local and international alike."
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Also giving updates on efforts to fight the Carmel fire was Air Force Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan, who told the cabinet that 35 planes are in operation, including 24 from abroad. He said that as of Sunday, the aircraft have carried out 409 fire-dousing flights.
Opening the meeting, Netanyahu said that he wanted to eliminate bureaucracy and find quick solutions and alternative processes in order to rehabilitate the homes, neighborhoods, towns and businesses that have been damaged in the Carmel fire over the weekend.
The prime minister reiterated his earlier statement that asking for aid from other countries during a natural disaster is nothing to be ashamed of. He noted that during recent major fires in California, US and Russia, those countries also sought aid from foreign nations, and were not embarrassed to do so.
The Finance Ministry said it would allocate NIS 60 million to rehabilitate infrastructure and local authorities damaged in the Carmel fire, at the meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting , Welfare Minister Yitzhak Herzog said that his ministry would coordinate social rehabilitation efforts. "The government will give the Finance Ministry seven days to formulate a rehabilitation plan."
Netanyahu also took the opportunity to thank all those who have, and continue to serve and volunteer in fighting the fire and helping those affected by it. He thanked the firefighters, soldiers, police, volunteers, JNF-KKL, the Environmental Ministry and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
Prior to the cabinet meeting on Sunday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak toured damage from the Carmel fire at Kibbutz Beit Oren.
"Great damage was caused here," Barak said, "it was a huge disaster."
The defense minister told reporters of a conversation he had over the weekend "with some friends [who are members of Kibbutz Beit Oren] that I know for 50 years, from my time in the Paratroopers, and I understood that the fire destroyed many houses before fire crews even arrived."
During his visit, the defense minister promised that whatever damage isn't covered by insurance, the state will step in to cover.
Barak was scheduled to tour the heavily damaged Carmel town of Usfiya prior to the special cabinet meeting.
AND
Firefighting authorities announced on Sunday afternoon that all major fires in the North have been contained as of 4:30 p.m. The announcement came 77 hours after firefighters began their efforts to contain the effort.
"There are no large fire sites at this time, just small ones that are being tackled [by firefighters]," the Police spokesperson's office said in a statement released Sunday afternoon.
At sundown on Sunday, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told The Associated Press that there have been 20 arson attempts in other forests over the past 48 hours, and four people have been arrested.
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Usfiya fire suspects' father: They were framed
By YAAKOV LAPPIN AND JPOST.COM STAFF
12/05/2010 12:47
Father blames "negligence of the neighbors who framed the boys;" says boys "didn't even know about" Carmel fire; suspects' remand extended.
Two Usfiya brothers on Sunday, suspected of starting the deadly fire in the Carmel region had their remand extended until Wednesday by the Haifa Magistrate Court. Their father said "we won't allow two good kids to be framed with this case," prior to the hearing.
He said the boys "had nothing to do with the fire, they didn't even know about it. One of them was sleeping and the other was in school." Their father added that the boys were "taken from their home, as if they were terrorists and not treated like two young boys prior to induction in the IDF."
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He blamed the "negligence of the neighbors who framed the boys," saying, "my boys do not smoke Nargila, and you can check that in a lab. I stand besides them and will continue to stand beside them. I will see to it that they are released immediately."
The father said that he too "served in the army, and my family and I tried to help the firefighters to put out the fire in the past few days."
The brothers, aged 14 and 16, were arrested on Saturday by officers belonging to a special investigation team assembled by the central unit of the Hof police sub-district, on suspicion of negligence which led to the devastating fire in the Carmel which has so far claimed the lives of 41 people.
“According to our initial findings, based on an analysis of findings on the ground, the fire was caused by negligence,” Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told The Jerusalem Post. Reports that the teens were suspected of hurling burning waste products during a picnic could not be confirmed.
The investigation of the incident is in its early phases, and police have cautioned against drawing premature conclusions.
Meanwhile, police and firefighters had to contend with sporadic fires that erupted far from the main Carmel fire zone, leading investigators to conclude that arsonists were attempting to “hitch a ride” on the Carmel disaster.
On Friday, two men in their 30s from Daliat al- Carmel were arrested on suspicion of hurling flammable materials into the Carmel forest, after reportedly being spotted by a pilot from above. But the men were released without charge on Saturday. The arrests were condemned by Druse leaders as being symptomatic of a “blame game” they said was being directed against them.
On Friday, a fire broke out in Kiryat Bialik’s Tzur Shalom industrial zone, forcing the evacuation of a nearby factory. The flames were brought under control by firefighters within several hours. Police reported finding a bicycle and a bag containing a wig near the area, increasing suspicions that arson was involved.
A blaze that broke out in Tivon was also likely the result of arson, police said.
“There have been a number of arson attacks in the northern district,” Police Insp.-Gen. David Cohen said during an emergency press conference on Friday evening at Haifa University.
Additional suspicious fires erupting over the weekend were seen in the following areas: near the Galilee village of Adi, at Bet Shlomo Junction by Route 70 in the vicinity of Nazareth, and near Kfar Mashad.
A small fire erupted in Haifa’s Nave Yosef neighborhood on Friday afternoon. All the fires were out by midnight.
“We’ve been seeing these kinds of arson attacks for many years,” Fire Service official Boaz Arkia said.
A brush fire broke out in the Jerusalem Forest on Saturday around 1 p.m., Jerusalem District police reported. Firefighters and police responded to the blaze and had it under control within an hour, and the fire was completely put out by 4 p.m.
Police are treating the brushfire as arson after hikers nearby reported two suspects fleeing from the area where the fire started.
A police investigation is ongoing. The fire burned a total of 2.5 dunams of forest and open land, and there was never any danger of damage to homes or people in nearby Tsur Hadassah.
