As fires continue to rage in Israel, Israel Police and the Shin Bet continue to find and arrest arson suspects.

Several arson suspects were arrested in east Jerusalem and security teams in two other areas arrested suspects in two additional attacks, one in Rosh HaAyin and another in Beit Keshet, a kibbutz in northern Israel.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Police Chief Danny Levy deployed 14,000 police forces across the country in efforts to stop arson attempts.

Ben Gvir said that “arsonists should be treated as arch-terrorists in every sense of the word who tried to murder thousands of citizens, and should be punished accordingly to the fullest extent of the law.”

Former Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman said: “In the past, we have seen waves of arson with nationalistic motives, encouraged by terrorist elements. Today, too, we see calls for incitement by Palestinian terrorists on the networks to continue setting fires and harming the country. I call on the government of Israel to seriously examine who is behind the fires and deal with it decisively. We must not turn a blind eye to this type of terror.”

“It’s a terror attack on Israel,” Eli Beer, president of United Hatzalah, told The Media Line, adding that fires were started in 20 separate locations. A security source also confirmed to The Media Line that a terrorist act was likely behind the fires, adding that several people had been arrested.

Security officials in Israel have a map of the locations of the fires, almost all of which are on the Israeli side of the Green Line, not in the area populated by Palestinians.

The police continue to fight not only the flames, but also the wave of incitement that accompanies the fires. Police sources told Channel 14 that 18 suspects have been identified for inciting arson terrorism, and arrests are expected to be made in the coming hours.

“A team against incitement on social networks established by Minister Ben Gvir worked around the clock today to reach all supporters of arson,” the police sources said. “The police team located some of the inciters, and in the coming hours, the police will lay their hands on them. It’s not over – anyone who was part of the incitement will be brought to justice.”

The head of local councils in Yehudah and Shomron, along with right-wing politicians, have called to put a lockdown on Palestinian cities and towns to prevent arson attempts. Likud MK Dan Illouz called for “an immediate closure of Yehudah and Shomron and an iron-fisted response” to the fires.

“We don’t wait for an attack—we thwart it,” he wrote. “We have learned the lesson from both old and new history.”

Shas chairman Aryeh suggested eliminating any Palestinians who light fires via airstrikes.

According to an initial assessment made by the JNF-KKL, from the morning hours until this hour, approximately 11,700 dunams have been burned, including Eshtaol Forest, almost all of Canada Park, Anava, Kedoshim, the Burma Road area, and Shoresh Forest.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)