Israel asks for international help to fight forest fires

JERUSALEM • Israeli firefighters battled flames for a second day in the hills west of Jerusalem, forcing the evacuation of five communities and prompting the government to ask for international help.

"The Greek Foreign Minister already said he will help as much as possible," Foreign Minister Yair Lapid wrote on Twitter on Monday, while Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat told Agence France-Presse that Greece and Cyprus had agreed to send firefighting planes to Israel.

Italy, France and other countries were also being contacted, the Foreign Ministry said.

Nearly 2,000ha had been razed over the past two days, National Fire and Rescue Commissioner Dedi Simchi told reporters.

Twelve firefighting planes dumped water and fire retardant onto burning woodland, said Jerusalem fire and rescue services spokesman Eddi Aharonoff.

As night fell on Sunday, around 100 fire crews kept working in the dark. "Nobody is talking about going home," Mr Aharonoff said.

The fires broke out in the wooded hills west of Jerusalem on Sunday, sending acrid-smelling clouds of smoke over the holy city and its iconic Dome of the Rock, and forcing the evacuation of a psychiatric hospital.

Firefighters managed to contain the blaze before strong winds sent flames racing through woodland again on Monday afternoon.

Police drove through communities in the fire's path, using loudspeakers to urge residents to leave their homes.

Mr Simchi told reporters the fires were similar in scale to outbreaks in northern Israel in 2010, at the time the largest in the country's history. Those fires destroyed 2,400ha of land.

He also said he believed the latest fires did not start spontaneously. "Yesterday there was no lightning in Israel. The fire broke out as a result of human activity.

"If it was neglect, if it was recklessness, if it was intentional, if it was arson, we don't know."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE