Russia, Turkey and Cyprus are to send firefighting planes to Israel as the country battles fierce forest fires that have triggered the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, including 11 neighbourhoods in Haifa. Haifa, however, was the worst affected, with fires starting out in the north-east of the port city near Paz Bridge and spreading to near the city’s football stadium. “The fire is still burning and the flames are approaching a gas [petrol] station.”Facebook Twitter Pinterest An Israeli firefighting plane in Haifa. Israel’s police chief, Roni Alsheich, told reporters that arsonists were suspected of setting some of the fires for political reasons. “Only those to whom the country does not belong are capable of burning it,” he said in a tweet in Hebrew.

Source: The Guardian November 24, 2016 15:41 UTC