Last Suspect Held for November Fires across Israel — Released

The last suspect held in connection with fires that raged across Israel in late November was released without charges on Tuesday, January 10, after nearly seven weeks in jail. Ali Mahajneh, 24, from Umm al-Fahem had been detained since November 25 on suspicion of arson. He was set free following a decision by Israel’s Supreme Court which found that he had been burning trash near his home and had not intended to start an uncontrolled blaze. 

A fire near the western entrance to Jerusalem last November

A fire near the western entrance to Jerusalem last November (Photo: Israel Fire and Rescue Authority)

Mahajneh was one of 12 Palestinian-Arabs, both citizens of Israel and residents of the West Bank, who were arrested after a wave of fires hit central and northern Israel in late November. During the course of several days firefighters struggled to get the largest fires under control due to very strong winds and extremely dry conditions – there had been virtually no precipitation across the country since the end of the long, hot and rainless summer. The 12 suspects were held on suspicion of arson or incitement to arson.

Ran Sheluf, head of the investigation unit of Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services, said that more than 1,500 fires were reported to authorities. Together, the fires damaged or destroyed some 700 homes in Haifa, the third-largest city in Israel, as well as scores of homes in other locations.

During the second day of the fires, based on information he had received from the Israel Police, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began a racist, hysterical witch hunt declaring that if it turned out that the fires were “intentionally set,” he would treat them as acts of terrorism. “Every fire that was caused by arson, or incitement to arson, is terrorism by all accounts. And we will treat it as such,” Netanyahu said. Minister of Education Naphtali Bennett, leader of the far-right HaBait HaYehudi (Jewish Home) party and a vocal opponent of a Palestinian state, added on Twitter, “Only one to whom the country doesn’t belong to is capable of burning it down,” clearly implying that the blame was to be placed on Palestinian-Arabs.

MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash), head of the Joint List bloc in the Knesset, fired back at right-wing Israeli. On Facebook he wrote, “During this stormy day, I have been moving between different media, in an attempt to say this clearly: This is our home and it is our duty to preserve it. Now is the time for joint cooperation, to help evacuate the elderly and all those who need help,”

With Mahajineh’s release, cases against all 12 suspects have been closed without any indictments having been filed.

Related: