Wildfires in northern West Bank force settlement evacuation

Wildfires sweep northern illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, prompting evacuations and injuries. Palestinians watch as an Israeli Air Tractor AT-802 firefighting plane extinguishes a blaze near the village of Tell, adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Havat Gilad, west of Nablus in the occupied West Bank [GETTY] Multiple fires broke out in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of one settlement and injuring at least two firefighters, according to police and rescuers. The blaze was first reported in the early afternoon west of the Palestinian city of Nablus in the settlement of Kedumim, where two neighbourhoods were evacuated. The fire later expanded to the nearby settlement of Havat Gilad and intensified, forcing its evacuation. Firefighting and rescue teams from several areas worked to extinguish hotspots and two firefighters were injured, Israeli fire and rescue services said. The operation was supported by a reconnaissance helicopter and eight firefighting aircraft, and 13 homes and a lumber warehouse were destroyed by the fire, the service added. The police said they had closed various roads to "keep emergency routes clear". "Several people with minor injuries and one person with moderate injuries have been evacuated for continued medical treatment in hospital," the service reported later in the evening. Havat Gilad is an illegal outpost established in 2002 and retroactively authorised by the Israeli government in 2018. Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, are regarded as illegal under international law. In a joint statement issued on Saturday evening, police and the fire service said they had "begun investigating the circumstances of the fire outbreak". They added that firefighters would remain in the area until "all centres of combustion are fully extinguished". Wildfires also erupted on Saturday afternoon near the northern Israeli communities of Shimshit and Kfar Vradim, as well as on Mount Tabor, firefighters said. Early in the evening, the Fire and Rescue Authority said firefighters had "gained control over all the fires" in northern Israel. Related Articles