Israel Fire: Police deny claims that blazes were caused by 'terrorism'
In
a dispute with tax authorities proposing state compensation for fire
victims, police say it has not yet been determined which if any of last
week's fires were caused by…
haaretz.com|Di Yaniv Kubovich
Israel's police denied claims that the fires that destroyed hundreds of homes in the country last week were a result of "pyro-terrorism," despite claims by some members of the government, putting them in dispute with Israel's national tax authority.
The brewing conflict
involves determining which of the victims may be eligible for state
compensation. The tax authority has already published a list of
locations where fire damage will be compensated, stating that it had
determined with certainty that these fires were set for nationalist, or
terrorist, motives.
The police and firefighters are denying the tax
authority's claims. They insist there is no certainty that political or
nationalist motives were to blame for any of these fires.
Police say some of
the cases are still under investigation. “We cannot compete with the
remarks of politicians talking about compensation,” a police source
said.
For instance, in the fire in Nataf,
a community near Jerusalem, bottles filled with flammable materials
were found but there is no other indication of arson, and no suspects.
On Monday, officials said that out of the total 1,773 reported fires, centered largely in and around Jerusalem and Haifa, 25 were suspected arson.
If a fire was started due to criminal activity,
victims with private insurance may claim compensation for the damage, up
to 150,000 shekels. But in the event of a fire set for nationalist
motives, the property tax authority would be cover the loss and the
compensation would amount to much less than the actual value of the
belongings.
Senior Treasury
officials said the head of police intelligence, Meni Yitzhaki, told
property tax officials on Sunday that it was possible to ascertain that
certain blazes were set for nationalist motives. The tax authority said
that based on this information and additional conversations, they had
drawn up a list of fire victims who were affected by arson terror.
But police and
firefighter authorities say that making such a determination before the
conclusion of the investigation could be problematic. They say some
residents, fearing inadequate compensation, are already threatening to
appeal to the High Court of Justice to reveal how it was determined that
their home was damaged by "pyro-terrorism."
Twenty-nine suspected arsonists are currently in
custody, 13 of them Palestinians from the West Bank and 16 Arab
Israelis, including six minors.
Several Palestinians
arrested by IDF forces over the weekend were released on Monday.
Security forces didn't provide an exact number or specify the what they
were suspected of.
Five suspects have
been questioned about fires in Haifa and all have been released. Three
suspects held for suspected arson in the Israeli Arab town of Basmat
Tivon near Haifa were released from custody on Tuesday on 5,000 shekel
bail apiece.
Police told Haaretz
that no one has been arrested in connection with the fire in Zichron
Yaakov, though arson is still suspected. Arson is believed to be behind
fires that broke out in three other places in northern Israel, police
said.
No arrests have been
reported for the fire that destroyed 17 homes in the West Bank
settlement of Halamish, and which has been ruled preliminarily as arson.
Three Palestinians were arrested on Tuesday for setting a fire
elsewhere in the West Bank.
Firefighters have
said that at least 13 fires in the West Bank were set deliberately,
including the one in Halamish, two in the area of Dolev and another in
the Talmon area. Other suspected cases of arson are also under
investigation.
Commenti
Posta un commento