Twice in one day: Fire at Hebron's Jewish cemetery
Site catches fire over night, then again Friday morning. Police rule out claims graveyard was torched by Palestinians
Damage was caused in the ancient Jewish cemetery in Hebron over night from a fire that broke out in the area. Residents of the Jewish settlement in the city claim the fire was the result of arson by Palestinians, but police have ruled out this claim.
Photographs taken at the site Friday morning show that dry thorns between the ancient tombstones were burnt.
The Jewish residents' accusations intensified when another fire broke out in the same cemetery on Friday, near the site's western fence. Local police and firefighters arrived at the site, and the source of the fire is being investigated.
Police said the first fire may have been the result of a fire lit by Palestinian youths near the fence that got out of control.
On the other hand, the Yesha Human Rights group expressed bewilderment at the police estimate and said, "Since when do Arab youths play in the field at 11pm?" The organization urged the police to bring the perpetrators to justice.
While police do not suspect arson in Friday's fire, the timing couldn't be more explosive, as the settlers and Palestinians are still in a dispute over the circumstances that led to the fire that consumed a mosque in the Palestinian village of Lubban al-Sharqiya on Tuesday.
On Thursday, firefighters' speculations that the fire was the result of intentional arson were strengthened, despite the fact that no traces of flammable substances were found at the site. The mosque, located between Nablus and Ramallah, was seriously damaged in the fire, and the Palestinians claimed it was a "price tag" reprisal carried out by settlers.
