- Title: ISRAEL: Palestinian fire-fighters assist with Israeli fires
- Date: 7th December 2010
- Summary: BEIT OREN, ISRAEL (DECEMBER 5, 2010) (REUTERS) FIREFIGHTING PLANE FLYING OVER HORSES NEAR BARN HORSES STANDING, AIRPLANE FLYING ABOVE PALESTINIAN FIREFIGHTING TRUCK HELICOPTER FLYING VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN FIRE-FIGHTERS WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN FIRE FIGHTER WORKING IN ISRAEL, ZIAD SADAKA, SAYING: "I tell the world that this is a humanitarian case an
- Embargoed: 22nd December 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel, Israel
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVADRRGN9PKI0TEQY1HZXSKOYH6Q
- Story Text: Three Palestinian fire trucks with their crews from the occupied West Bank joined efforts to extinguish a four-day forest fire in Israel on Sunday (December 5), alongside Israeli and international counterparts.
The trucks were sent by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after he had a rare telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The two were not believed to have spoken since U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations stalled in September. After the conversation Netanyahu said he would establish a fleet of fire-fighter aircraft, which he told Abbas would be made available to Israel's Arab neighbours where necessary.
"I tell the world that this is a humanitarian case and we are here based on instructions from his excellence Abu Mazen. We are a people that love peace and this is a humanitarian case and we love to help both Israelis and Palestinians," Palestinian fire fighter Ziad Sadaka said as he battled the flames in the charred community of Beit Oren on Mount Carmel.
An Israeli statement said Abbas had expressed condolences to Netanyahu for the Israelis killed in the fire on Thursday (December 2).
Netanyahu's government faced mounting criticism on Sunday (December 5) over a huge four-day-old forest fire that has claimed 41 lives and been called the worst in the nation's history.
Politicians and pundits called for officials to resign for a failure to quell an inferno that has in addition to causing casualties, scorched 12,000 acres (5,000 hectares) of woodland, destroyed millions of trees, and an estimated dozens of homes.
With Netanyahu having made a visible effort to muster global aid and monitor efforts to fight the blaze at the weekend, most critics targeted Interior Minister Eli Yishai, whose job it is to oversee the fire-fighters.
Many demanded that Yishai, of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a key coalition partner in Netanyahu's government, resign for inadequate preparation of the firefighting system, which has not been able to bring the blaze under control.
A global effort to help Israel contain the fires went on with Germany, Switzerland and Azerbaijan expected to join a dozen other nations that have sent firefighting equipment.
In contrast, Ismail Haniyeh, the Islamist Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, a territory partly blockaded by Israel, said the fire was "a punishment by God" against the Jewish state.
Two teenagers suspected of starting the blaze through negligence were brought to court to extend their remand on Thursday. Both were accused of having failed to extinguish a camp fire, which led to the conflagration, police said.
Meanwhile Israeli residents of Yemin Ord, returned to their homes, but found only ashes and damage, and none of their belongings.
"We had a house full of Bibles, now everything has turned into ashes." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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