Israeli forces detained at least 16 Palestinians across Israel and the occupied West Bank on Thursday and Friday over suspicions of starting fires that erupted in Haifa and have continued to spread for the fourth consecutive day.
Israeli media reported on Friday that three Palestinian workers were detained in the Haifa district over suspicions of arson. The Palestinians had reportedly entered Israel without permits.
Another 11 Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces in Israel and the Jerusalem area.
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank district of Ramallah, Israeli forces detained a Palestinian for allegedly attempting to start a fire near the illegal Israeli settlement of Kochav Yaakov, an Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an.
The spokesperson did not identify the Palestinian detained in Ramallah, however, locals told Ma’an that Sayel Darwish Jarabaa, 60, was detained from the Beitin village in northern Ramallah late Thursday for allegedly attempting to start a fire. Jarabaa is the father of Saji who was killed by Israeli forces two-and-a-half years ago.
Israeli media also reported a detention of a 24-year-old Palestinian from Rahat city in the Negev of southern Israel for alleged “incitement” over a Facebook post reportedly encouraging others to start fires.
Locals identified the detainee as journalist Anas Abu Daabis. According to Israeli media outlet Ynet, Daabis is the son of a senior member of the Islamic Movement in Israel.
However, Israeli media later reported that his detention came after Israeli authorities mistranslated his post, which read “what kind of ignorance and lack of awareness are we facing? Our country is on fire and the Arabs are celebrating!” Abu Daabis was referring to statements made by Palestinians insinuating that the fire was revenge for Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
“It’s a wonder when the brain stops working and turns into an idiot,” the post added, while also referring to other Palestinians who have linked the banning of the Adhan -- call to prayer -- in Israel with the spread of the fires.
The Islamic movement also condemned the detention in a statement, saying that Abu Daabis used the post to condemn Palestinians celebrating the fires, and not to incite others to ignite them. They demanded his immediate release from police custody, and added that the translators should be held accountable “who obviously don’t know anything about the Arabic language.”
On Thursday, according to the Times of Israel, Israel’s ultra right Education Minister Naftali Bennett used the occasion to point blame at Palestinians for the devastating fire, saying that “only someone who this land does not belong to would be capable of setting fire to it,” implying both that Palestinians were responsible for the fires and that Palestinians do not have any attachment to the land in Israel, where some 700,000 Palestinians were displaced from during the establishment of Israel in 1948.
Meanwhile, Palestinian authorities provided support to Israel Thursday night by sending firefighting crews to help put out fires erupting across Israeli and Palestinian cities in Israel.
While the fire has spread into Jerusalem and parts of the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the wildfire in Haifa has been calmed, but 35 firefighting teams are expected to remain, including four from the occupied Palestinian territory.
