'We suffer from agricultural terrorism'
Residents of the northern colony of Yesud HaMa'ala wake up to flames threatening to destroy communal cooling house for its produce; arson is suspected, relating to arrest of crime organization head who extorted money from farmers.
A huge fire that raged Monday in the cooling house in northern colony of Yesud HaMa'ala, located in the Upper Galilee. The fire caused heavy damage estimated at NIS 10 million. Police believe the cause for the fire was arson; this is not the first time that the refrigeration plant at the base of the fire has been set on fire, as well as other cooling houses in the area.
Large firefighting teams arrived to discover that the fire had consumed 7,000 empty containers for storing fruit. They said that if the containers were full of fruit, the financial damage would have been much greater, and the fire would have been more dangerous, due to the ammonia reserve used to cool fresh fruit.
"A friend woke me up and said, 'Run to your business, see if everything is all right,' because my factory is very sensitive to the fire," says Mulik Hammer, a farmer from Yesud Ha'Ma'ala. "The whole colony was lit by the fire. There were huge flames, a great noise, because the containers dropped from six to seven meters in height. Worried farmers clustered together, and it was impossible to approach. The plastic from the containers flowed like lava and fell into a nearby pomegranate plantation and set it on fire, as well. We were very lucky and avoided a serious disaster. I have a factory to produce cartons for packing fruit and vegetables near the cooling house, but fortunately it was not damaged. "
Local residents believe the fire is related to his arrest at the end of the week of Faraj Heib, 46, a resident of the Bedouin town of Tuba-Zangariyye, who was suspected of heading a large crime organization that for years had been blackmailing many farmers in the north. The organization reportedly offers "protection services," causing heavy damage to the tools, factories and plants of those who refuse to comply with the demand, including setting businesses on fire. Six months ago, thanks to an undercover investigation that included the cooperation of several law enforcement agencies, the criminal organization supposedly headed by Heib was exposed, though he himself managed to escape. A SWAT team finally managed to arrest him in a hiding place in Jericho, before transferring him for interrogation.
"This is agricultural terror, I have no other words to describe it," said Ofer Barnea, 54, of Kibbutz Hulata. "They demand protection, and when they don't get it, they set fire to the business.
"I expect someone to do something," he added, referring to law enforcement. "But result are what count here, and so far they have not been able to deal with the problem."
Giora Zalz, head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, said that "there is no doubt that there is some message here, of a show of strength, despite the arrest of the head of the crime organization from Tuba-Zangaria this weekend. He added that "This is another sign of intimidation for the demand for protection fees … The state must find a solution for compensation The damage caused to us."
