Fires across Israel are Arab terror, right-wing MKs say
Likud MK Amir Ohana said that the fires show that “they want to destroy the one Jewish State more than they want to establish the 22nd Arab state.”
By LAHAV HARKOVUpdated: NOVEMBER 24, 2016 18:32Fires rage across Israel. Courtesy Police Spokesperson's Office.
Likud and Bayit Yehudi MKs warned that the fires raging across Israel are terrorism on Thursday.Education Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted: “Only someone to whom the land doesn’t belong could be able to burn it.”Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev said “anyone who has eyes and a brain can see that the fires in many places in Israel are not natural.“We must find the terrorists who are burning our forests and endangering human lives,” Regev said, thanking firefighters for working to put out the blazes.Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said he plans to propose legislation that would allow the government to foreclose on the home and possessions of anyone who is convicted of arson, so that the victims can be repaid and so people are deterred from setting fires.Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked tweeted that the punishment for arson is 15 years, and if it is of state property or a nature site, the punishment is 20 years.MK Nava Boker (Likud), who lost her husband, a police officer, in the 2010 Carmel Fire, wrote on Facebook: “200 fires in one day – the time has come to say it openly. This is ecological terror.”Likud MK Amir Ohana said that the fires show that “they want to destroy the one Jewish State more than they want to establish the 22nd Arab state.”“This shows who really loves the land, its views and its environment, and who is taking part in a sick lifelong project of murdering, burning and collapsing Israel’s neighborhoods, residents and trees,” he stated.In the opposition, MK Ayman Odeh (Joint list), a resident of Haifa, expressed hope that the fires would be put out soon, and said “it is hard to see the Carmel Mountain go up in flames and serious fires all over the country.”
Odeh lamented those who “chose to take advantage of the terrible situation to incite against an entire population group.“Whoever loves our homeland must focus now on putting out fires and helping those who are hurt, not fueling hatred,” he added.MK Itzik Shmuly (Zionist Union) called on people in the areas being evacuated to aid helpless people and animals who cannot leave on their own.