THE RAGING forest fires which devastated swaths of northern Israel and killed 41 people were under control last night as the government faced a barrage of criticism over its handling of the country’s worst natural disaster.
An Evergreen 747 supertanker, the world’s biggest firefighting plane, dropped more than 40 tonnes of fire-retardant chemicals over the Mount Carmel area. By early evening, firefighting crews were extinguishing the last small fires.
The international effort included aircraft and firefighters from at least 10 countries, including Turkey, whose diplomatic relations with Israel have been strained since the flotilla attack six months ago, and the Palestinian Authority.
The blaze, which started on Thursday, killed 41 people, most of whom were members of the prison service burnt in their bus. Two policemen who went to their assistance also died. And 4,900 hectares of forest has been destroyed.
Two brothers, aged 14 and 15, from the Druze village of Isfiya were arrested on Saturday suspected of causing the fires through negligence following a family picnic. Their father said they were innocent.
At yesterday’s cabinet meeting, Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, announced a €12.5 million aid package, including mobile homes.
But commentators were scathing in their criticism.Eli Yishai, the interior minister, was accused of preferring to seek public funds for his ultra-orthodox constituency rather than for the fire service. – (Guardian service)