More than 5,000 acres of wood have been burned in Jerusalem mountains

Nearly 100 fires have been burning for more than a day - and National Fire Commissioner Dedi Simchi said that the fire in the Jerusalem mountains is similar in size to the giant fire in Carmel in 2010. "more than 5,000 acres of woods were burned, and a few isolated houses caught fire without any injuries," Simchi updated tonight (Sunday), saying that the fact that there were no casualties is a great achievement.
A cigarette box was found in the scene where the fire started, near Moshav Beit Meir, but it is not certain that its owners caused the fire. "I have been saying this for several years, yesterday there was no lightning in the State of Israel," Simchi hinted. "The fire broke out as a result of man-made. Whether it is negligence or recklessness, whether it is malice or arson - we do not know," Simchi stressed, "We will continue to investigate and as soon as there are findings we will pass them on to those who need them."
As the fire intensified, Israel this evening turned to countries in the region and asked to be prepared to assist in the extinguishing efforts. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke with his Greek counterpart who said he would do everything possible to help, and the Foreign Ministry situation room is concentrating on referrals to Cyprus which has also agreed to help, Italy, France, Croatia and other countries.
More than 75 firefighters have been working in the area for the past few hours, and police have evacuated residents of Matzuva, Givat Ye'arim, Ein Nakuba and Ein Rafa due to the spread of the fire. Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said that at present there is no tangible danger to the settlements - but the situation could still change. Mann added that Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital has a fire protection system based on water cannons. "We are currently ready for any development," he said.
The Ministry of Defense is working to lease the six Chimnir planes, which are grounded for bureaucratic reasons, to assist in the firefighting efforts tomorrow - and at the same time is examining the possibility of using more civilian aircraft for the firefighting mission