Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Concerning trend | Arson cases in Judea and Samaria spike by over 100%

Firefighters over the past week have tended to approximately 600 fires in open areas in Judea and Samaria.

The Fire and Rescue Service emphasized that in a normal week, the firefighters deal with approximately 30-40 fires a week in the entire region.

Fire Deputy Chief Haim Ben-Nun, the head of the operations branch of the Judea and Samaria District, explained to Ynet: "In a normal week in Judea and Samaria we're talking about a few dozen fires, numbers that range from 30 to 40 in the entire region. Last week we ended with 600 fires in open areas in the entire region. It shows a clear drastic upward trend in the number of incidents."

Battalion Chief Eliran Tzruya, the Judea and Samaria District investigations officer, noted that the Fire and Rescue Service doesn't investigate every incident "rather only the incidents with a lot of damage, like home evacuations and, of course, property damage. Generally, we investigate between 5-8% of the fires, with nearly 90% of the investigations concluding that the fires were caused by arson. In the past few days, there have been 25 cases of arson.

According to the report, firefighters in Judea and Samaria are pointing out a concerning trend. Arson is being committed near IDF bases across Judea and Samaria, both small and large bases. This is in addition to cases of arson near homes. Israel National News - Arutz Sheva