Wildfires that broke out Wednesday in the Jerusalem Hills sparked a wave of celebratory and incendiary responses across Arab social media platforms, particularly among Palestinian users, some of whom used the events to mock Israel or call for violence.
Posts on platforms such as Facebook, Telegram and TikTok surged with videos of the fires, religiously and politically charged comments and, in some cases, direct incitement. “We ask God to protect our people and our land. May these fires confuse the occupiers and their embattled settlers,” wrote Hana Barghouti. Another user, Umm Ibrahim, posted images from the blazes and added, “In the name of Allah, the Avenger, the Almighty.”
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An image shared by the Jenin News Network on April 30, 2025, urging Palestinians in Israel to set fires
(Photo: Telegram)
Shiite Lebanese journalist Hiba Haidar wrote, “May God burn them as they burned the people of Gaza and their tents.” Palestinian journalist Abdullah Alattar from Gaza shared images with the caption, “Scenes of thousands of Israelis fleeing the wildfires raging in Jerusalem.”
Some posts criticized the Palestinian Authority, with users mocking reports that the Fatah-led government had offered Israel assistance in extinguishing the fires. “The Zionist Palestinian Authority offered help, and Israel ignored it,” wrote Hanin Nassar. “May God humiliate you. You should’ve asked for permission to save tens of thousands in Gaza.”
A post in the Palestinian Facebook page Jerusalem Compass read: “On the eve of the so-called ‘Independence Day’ and the founding of their state on the land of Palestine, massive fires are burning in the Latrun Hills, along Highway 1 between Jerusalem and Jaffa. Tens of thousands of settlers have been forced to flee under siege.”
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In a more concerning development, several Palestinian accounts went beyond celebration to outright incitement, openly calling for arson as a form of resistance. Posts circulated guides for quickly setting fires using readily available materials and urged followers to replicate past arson attacks.
Earlier in the day, police in Jerusalem arrested a man from East Jerusalem attempting to start a fire in a field in the southern part of the city. Officers were alerted to suspicious activity, gave chase when the suspect tried to flee, and arrested him. He was found carrying a lighter, cotton wool and other flammable materials. The suspect, a man in his 50s from Umm Tuba, was taken for questioning at the Oz police station.