With all due respect to "good kids who are about to go in the army", this father has no way of knowing whether his sons had anything to do with the fires, or not. It is well known that Druse/Arab kids are smoking nargillahs all over the place, and building bonfires. They are not particularly fussy about putting out the fires. If the police arrived to this family, I'm sure they had good reason, although I don't know how they can prove it 100%, because of course the kids and their parents will deny it.

uavs perhaps

... then they are terrorists. This fire has been the worst case of domestic terrorism in Israel's history. Forty-one lives lost in the main Carmel blaze, and -- predictably enough -- copycat arsonists; monkey see, monkey do. If they are guilty of causing the fire -- whether through carelessness or negligence -- they deserve to be sanctioned with the full weight of the law. Forty-one deaths? Come on. Lock them up and throw away the key. Besides that, there is the sheer cost of putting out the fire. Not just to the State of Israel, but to all the countries that have contributed to the efforts to extinguish the flames. The hundreds of firefighters who have come to Israel and have put their lives on the line to help combat the fires. The utter destruction. The people who are now homeless. A slap on the wrist and a cautionary "be sure to be more careful next time" just won't cut it. And make those damned narjilahs illegal. What business does a fourteen year old and a sixteen year old have smoking anything, anyway? Where were their parents then?

Hmmm ...It probably was them. They need to be properly punished.

Why is it that certain ethnic groups can NEVER take responsibility for anything? It is NEVER them, always someone else.The parents too do not set an example for their children.If they owned up and said yes, it was an accident, we are sorry, they may just get to go to juvie, since 42 people have died. Not being able to take responsibility for one's actions is an immature characteristic.

I suggest we BOYCOTT Usfiya (citizens and tourists) until the culprits own up to this despicable act of arson / carelessness / irresponsibility that brought about insurmountable destruction and the lives of 41 people (mostly young).

to either enlist or be conscripted into Tzahal

Even if they are guilty due to negligence, still this does not make them terrorists. I'm sure you wouldn't have said this had they been jews...

Well, you guessed wrong. Domestic terrorists are domestic terrorists. Anyone that could cause a fire of this magnitude, with the loss of forty-one lives and the incredible destruction to property that resulted in this instance, are terrorists. They are also criminals. That said -- in this instance, the guilty are Druze -- Arab. In July, there was a fire that threatened Hadassah Hospital that was caused by Jewish yeshiva students who failed to properly contain a campfire, and then failed to inform the appropriate authorities. Thankfully, no lives were lost, but there was considerable damage to property. Is there a difference? Yes. Forty-one lives, for starters, and the destruction of a kibbutz. And I note that there were several additional blazes that were the work of arsonists that did not result from the major conflagration in the Carmel. Care to guess at the ethnicity of those arsonists?

Arson is arson, even if you're from Mars Especially in this hot weather where there's been no rain for 8 months Their motives for the fires have yet to be determined

Why is it that people are unable to distinguish between facts and feelings?

First of all you can't conflate terrorism with criminal negligence. That's insulting to victims of terrorism. A suicide bomber does not kill people by negligently forgetting to take off his explosive belt before getting on the bus. It is criminal negligence and they are innocent until proven guilty. Second, you example of the Yeshiva students isn't cogent. First you say it doesn't make a difference Arab or Jew and then at the end you state there is a difference. Even if the Yeshiva students didn't kill anyone at Hadassah hospital by your definition they committed terrorism through criminal negligence. Not all acts of terrorism result in fatality or injury. Look at the recent air mail attack as an example. The purpose of terrorism is to intimidate political opponents through violence; murder is not necessary. Obviously everything I have just wrote being entirely logical and moderate makes no sense to you. I am aware of that. But I hope that other people who have read your posts will now read mine and consider the above.

So Far that is. First the mother said both were is school during that time. She would have no way of knowing that unless confirmed by a trustworthy source at the school. I cut class as a kid, my parents would have thought I was at school too. Second, now the father has a different story, that one kid was at school, the other was in bed sleeping (apparently the mother did not know he was still sleeping in her house)? So immediately we a discrepancy in the two stories. In any police investigation that is the first sign that would send up a "red flag", two different stories. Third, this is the first I've heard that the neighbors apparently have been questioned. To quote the Father in this article: "Our neighbors framed them," the father continued. "My kids do not smoke nargilas (water pipes) – this can be checked in a lab. I also served in the army and helped firefighters over the past few days." It begs the question, why would their neighbors want to "frame" these two young (14 & 16) boys? It is beginning to sound like a couple of young boys unintentionally started the fire. It wouldn't be the first time kids playing with matches started a fire, would it? Remember "Smokey the Bear", don't play with matches. Frankly it is beginning to sound like the first fire was unintentional, followed by some terrorists jumping on the bandwagon once they saw a weakness in the Israeli capability to fight forest fires. Why nobody is saying this has more to do with "Political Correctness" running wild, than anything else. Although there is one chump who keeps writing about a different fire that occurred July 25, 2010. I guess he feels the posts seem more critical here. The implication is that the other fire was started by some ultra-orthodox Jewish people, so they were given a pass. And that is proof of Israeli bias and unfairness in the Israeli legal system and the posters on this talkback board. But of course he fails to mention that in the other fire (July 25, 2010) nobody died, and in this fire the death toll is 41. So his apple and oranges comparison is laughable at best. But is typical for the anti-Israel writers.

why did their neighbors turn them in to the authorities