The flames were noticed on Wednesday morning, between the towns of Mesilat Zion and Neve Shalom. Several dozen fire brigades, supported by 11 fire -fighting aircraft and two helicopters, are fighting with a fire. There are no reports of victims, but there were powerful communication difficulties.
Drivers ran away from cars
Due to the fire hazard, the main highway connecting Jerusalem with Tel Aviv was closed. According to ynenews.com, the service evacuated drivers from the blocked road, a Some of them left the cars and ran away before flames.
Records of travelers from endangered roads appear in social media:
Nine drivers were saved from motorway number 1. Several people who were slightly caught received help on the spot.
Places and settlements located along this route were evacuated and within a radius of 30 kilometers from Jerusalemi.e. Neve Shalom, Tekoa, Taoz, Nahshon and Mesilat Zion.
Strong wind makes the fire quickly spread through the Judea hills, very difficult for firefighting.
Due to difficult conditions, the Minister of Road Transport and Road Security Miri Regev announced that it was dismissed for Wednesday in Jerusalem Main events related to the celebration of the Independence Day there.
Earlier, the celebration of the Memorial Day on the Latrun Hill was suspended, and the police helped to leave the area to the people gathered there.
The Minister of Internal Security ITAMAR Ben GVIR wrote in a statement that he would go on fire. This is another event of this type in this part of Israel.
Last week Firefighters fought fire in the same region. Then the fire consumed about a thousand hectares of the area
Israel's Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu then appealed for an intensive fight against the fire to prevent him from getting closer to Jerusalem. Ultimately, this was prevented, but you had to evacuate the towns of Eshtaol, Beit Meir and Mesilat Zion.
The ESZTAOL For Israeli conditions, it is large and has a total of about 1,200 hectares. To the east of him is the forest of martyrs, i.e. an artificial forest, aimed at commemorating the victims of the Holocaust. To this end, six million trees were planted there, which symbolize six million Jews murdered during World War II.
Source: “Jerusalem Post”, AFP, Ynetnews.com, Jfeed.com