It’s been some three months since the disastrous blaze R”L that destroyed almost the entire community of Mevo Modi’im. According to a report, police are aware than as the leading investigator in the case, it does not wish to have to continue investigating, and as such, it has ruled out arson.

Just a few short days following the fire, police already announced there was no evidence of arson. Persons closely involved insist that this is an outrage.

Sources tell Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) “Police are aware that designating the case as such [arson], would compel it to carry out many actions, including an investigation, interrogations, and arrests of suspects connected to the fire”.

The same sources insist the focal points of the fire were located in close proximity to one another, in a fashion that absolutely cannot be attributed to coincidence, and there is no escape from declaring the fire arson. The decision to close the investigation has both implications pertaining to criminal activity and financial ramifications. If the fire is declared the result of arson, the compensation that the residents would receive would be higher.

Israel’s Fire & Rescue Service reports the police investigation was thorough and Israel Police is a competent authority in investigating the criminal involvement in the blaze if any.

In a matter directly related to Mevo Modi’im, resident Eliezer Ilovitz, 37, the father of five children, was last seen near the tziyun of the Rashbi on the Shabbos before Lag B’Omer. His family was scheduled to join him in Meron after Shabbos.

His trail has since vanished and extensive searches for him have not revealed his whereabouts. He remains missing.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)