Soldier suspected of Holon arson
Twenty-year-old solider tells commander he was behind fires in apartment buildings in city, commander informs police. During investigation soldier denies allegations, claims, 'It was an April Fools' prank'
Police arrested Friday a 20-year-old solider from Holon suspected of setting fire to stairwells in seven buildings and a kindergarten in the city and causing a panic and the evacuation of dozens of residents on Thursday.
The soldier, Shai Degani, told his commander he was the one to set the fires, and his commander informed the police. Degani was arrested, and in his investigation, the soldier denied being behind the act, and claimed he was pulling a prank on his commander: "It was an April Fools' prank." But the court was not amused, and decided to extend his remand by three days.
Degani, who serves at the Zerifin army base, lives in the Kiryat Sharet neighborhood in eastern Holon. He told his commander that he was responsible for the arsons in the center of the city, and the latter reported this to the police.
During his investigation, the soldier denied the allegations, said he was only joking with his commander, and gave the detectives an alibi, saying he was with his family at the time the fires were set.
Police plan to look into his alibi. Degani was brought before the Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court on Friday, where the judge ruled he should remain in custody until Sunday.
"I got up at 7 am yesterday, and I just opened the internet and on Ynet's homepage I saw the article about seven housings being torched in Holon," Degani told the court. "I got to the office at the base. It was just me and my commander, and I told him, as a joke, and in detail from the article, so it would seem real – and apparently he believed me. He did not verify it with me and did not ask me if I did it. I didn't do anything."
The judge said in response: "Even if it turns out that you were joking, you will pay the price." The judged explained to Degani that his detention was "the price of joking". The judge urged the police to file a civil suit against Degani if his 'confession' turns out to have been a prank.
The soldier's attorney, Eli Chitron, spoke in his defense: "This is a young man, with no criminal past, who woke up in the morning, and wanted, like the rest of the world, to take part in an April Fools' joke. He will be punished for this prank by his parents. All he did was tell his commander about this, based on a story he read in Ynet."
In response the judge said, "This still cannot be determined. I will not rule in a matter just because of the date," and said that there were reasonable grounds for the suspicions against Degani. He added that the police's concerns that their investigation may be disrupted if Degani is release were just.
Police suspected on Thursday that one person was behind the fires. Trash cans were set ablaze and pushed into apartment building entrances. Firefighters rushed from one location to another and managed to contain the flames.
The building that was torched on Henkin Street suffered the most damage. Four families living on the first floor were left without electricity after their joint fuse box was completely destroyed.
The plaster collapsed, and the soot reached the top floors. The fire spread when three strollers parked at the ground floor caught fire. In total, the damage caused to the buildings was estimated at tens of thousands of shekels.
Firefighter Oshri Basson said on Thursday, "When we finished putting out the fire on Homa u'Migdal Street, the crew moved on to the next fire on nearby Henkin Street, and I stayed behind to put away the equipment. Suddenly we got received a report about another fire, two houses away from the first fire. The smoke rose up and turned the stairwells into deathtraps. The tenant on the top floors stayed in their apartments under our instructions, and no one was injured."
