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Posted on 05/21/2005 1:19:43 PM PDT by IAF ThunderPilot
Arabs resumed using arson as a weapon against Israel Friday morning and destroyed more than 10,000 pine trees in Israel's largest planted forest.
Shortly after noon, firefighters overcame the fire at the Yatir Forest but still were trying to prevent it from rekindling the trees as afternoon winds become stronger. The forest is on the edge of the Negev and Judean deserts, about seven miles (12 kilometers) northwest of Arad and 15 miles (25 kilometers) northeast of Be'er Sheva.
"This is the largest and worst arson in the forest," said Abu Abukyan, Yatir Forest superintendent. He said there were no signs of who set the fires. Police chased in vain after several suspects who fled to nearby Arab villages southwest of Hevron.
Forest workers for the Jewish National Fund speculated that the reasons for the arson could be anger by Arabs at the building of the nearby security fence, the refusal of soldiers to allow unauthorized Arabs from entering the Be'er Sheva area or part of terrorists' fight against Israel.
Arson was a frequent Arab tactic in the early 1990s when thousands of acres of trees were destroyed throughout the country. "Arabs stopped setting fires when they began to get a bad reputation in European countries," according to Zev Shapira, security officer and rescue team leader at the nearby community of Bet Yatir.
The first blaze began at 7:30 Friday morning, and by noon the fires had burned about 50 acres (200 dunams). Hebron Hills Regional Council fire chief Asa Medad said the arsonists were setting the fires as workers and volunteers were extinguishing them. "We put out one fire, and another one started further away," he explained.
"Most of the trees were planted 30 years ago," according to Shapira. "If the winds had whipped up, we would not have succeeded. The dry brush and dead branches on the ground were fuel for the fire. The trees themselves didn't burn, but the intense heat of the ground will kill most of them."
Shapira said that volunteers and Jewish National Fund workers carried water tanks on their backs and watered around the burnt areas in an effort to prevent afternoon winds from whipping up the blaze again. Volunteers came from nearby southern Hevron Hills communities, including students from the Yatir Pre-Military Army Academy (mechina).
Fire trucks from the nearby communities and from Be'er Sheva helped put out the fire.
it "REALLY" is time to play cowboys and arabs
start in Saudi and go east
Palis are animals. Build the wall high and let 'em butcher each other in their own "state".
You'd think the msm and radical conservation groups would be absolutely livid about this.
One of those stories that truly speaks for itself.
Think about it the next time you see a wailing, fist-shaking mother whose terrorist son has been killed ...
more charitable acts from the 'religion of peace'
The Arabs had no interest in the land that is now Israel
as long as it was barren desert. As soon as the Jews came
along and through sheer hard work transformed the area into
a desirable place ---WHOA! Suddenly it's holy ground to the
Mooslims! These people contribute nothing to the human race.
BLOODY SAVAGES!!
Too bad the winds didn't shift to follow the crazy islamics and burn them. That would have been ironic justice.
The difference is that this is a desert forest (not a 'rain forest') planted only 30 years ago. No one is interested in logging there. No one makes any money by harvesting these trees, so there's no reason for the watermelon environmentalists to pretend to give a crap about their destruction.
Plus, it's Muslim terrorists. They can do no wrong.
You know what I going get so yell at seem Arabs what they did burning off that Forest they are Trailor Trash of the worst kind
I guess trees are infidels.
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