Doc's Talk: Raging Fire in Northern Israel-update

Friday, December 03, 2010

Raging Fire in Northern Israel-update

Muqata

1:47 AM Jameel signing off for the night. Blogging will resume in the early AM. Foreign fire fighting planes to arrive starting at 2 AM.

Unconfirmed reports of 66 casualties.

Hoping for a better tomorrow.

--Jameel

1:37 AM Photo Roundup from today's Fire
1:18 AM Denya Neighborhood in Haifa under evacuation. All the blue points are streets being evacuated now.

View Areas Affected by Carmel Fire in a larger map

Another photo of the fire -- taken from Yitzhar, over 100 km away from the fire. (source)

1:09 AM Sorry for the delay; had a MDA first response call to a car accident on the road.

Israel Radio reports that the Denya neighborhood of Haifa is now being evacuated.

12:13 AM This is the way the fire looks, from just down the road from me -- from the community of Yitzhar (central Shomron)

Photo by Ishy Hazani. More here.

12:07 AM Do you live in Israel and want to help? National Hotline to help families displaced by the fire: 02-652-2222

12:03 AM Egypt offers firefighting support. 200 IDF HomeFront command reserve firefighters drafted under emergency draft rule 8. Haifa Police Chief Ahuva Tomer in critical condition -- hurt during the fire earlier today.

11:45 PM Channel 2 reports that the fire simultaneously started this morning in 3 separate locations.

Strong winds are now driving the fire in the direction of Haifa.

Gilboa Region community of "Ein Harod" setting up tent city to house some of the families evacuated by the fire.

If you live in the Shomron area, you can volunteer to host families by calling the
Shomron Regional Council Emergency Volunteer Hotline
to provide housing assistance for displaced families: 1-700-700-106

11:34 PM This is the emergency broadcast I received on my EMT first responder radio when the first report arrived of the bus catching on fire tragedy today.

11:32 PM MK Ayoub Kara demands the death penalty for the terrorist-arsonists who started the fire.

11:31 PM Emergency Prayer and Tehillim services at the Kotel now, lead by Israeli Chief Rabbis and Rav Ovadya Yosef.

11:29 PM Israel Chemical Company announces it will offer 100% of its fire-fighting chemical stock located in Israel and France to help fight the fire, at no cost.

11:26 PM IDF sending combat cadets from the Paratrooper, Golani and Kvir Brigades to help with the evacuattion.

11:21 PM Updates: Over 12,000 people evacuated from their homes. Prison Services deny that 4 prisoners escaped. Foregin Minister Avigdor Leiberman announces that 12 countries are now sending firefighting planes and equipment...and that the Pentagon is checking if they have available equipment to send from the area.

11:18 PM MK Ayoub Kara (Likud) announces on Channel 10 TV that the fire was "an attack" and deliberately set. Developing story....

11:14 PM Channel 10 reports that four inmates escaped during the evacuation and are currently at large.

11:05 PM NASA Satellite photo from space.

Massive fire in Israel can be seen from space - NASA satellite photo
Thursday, December 2, 2010 - 21:37

A massive forest fire broke out near Haifa in Israel today and NASA took a image of it with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Agua satellite. The photo was taken at 12:10pm local time.

You can see a red line on the outside of the fire drawn by NASA. Strong winds fueled the fire.

40 People died thus far of the fire and the fire is now totally out of control (time of writing). The worst hit part is Carmel Mountain region, the IDF allocated all its resources to fight the fire.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.

10:55 PM JNF reports over 10,000 dunams of forest have been destroyed by the fire.

10:51 PM 36 of the victims' bodies have so far been positively identified.

10:50 PM Teacher-Soldiers drafted to aid in evacuations.

10:46 PM Fire-fighting aid from Foreign counties:

5 firefighting planes from Greece
2 firefighting planes from Azerbaijan
1 firefighting helicopter from Cyprus
4 firefighting planes and necessary fire-retardant chemicals from France
2 firefighting planes and 3 firefighting helicopter from Croatia
2 firefighting helicopters from Turkey

(Channel 2 News)

10:42 PM Emergency Phone Numbers:

Rambam Hospital: 12-55-144
Carmel Hospital: 12-55-142
Bnei Zion Hospita: 12-55-145
Social-Security Welfare 24 hotline: 118
Emergency Hotline for Families of Prison Services Workers: 08-977-5701

Shomron Regional Council Emergency Volunteer Hotline
to provide housing assistance for displaced families: 1-700-700-106

10:40 PM Italy not able to send fire-fighting planes due to stormy weather.

10:38 PM New, additional fire location in the Segev Region near the community of Moreshet. (Channel 10)

Update: At 11:30 PM this evening, emergency prayers and tehillim will be recited at the Kotel, led by R' Ovadia Yosef and Israel's Chief Rabbis.

10:35 PM Channel 10 News: "Beit Oren (the first community affected by the fire) looks like a war zone." Some reports say that nearly the entire kibbutz has been destroyed.

10:34 PM Carmel Hospital Completely Evacuated.

Foreign FireFighter Planes to arrive at 2 AM

10:26 PM As of 10:20 PM, over 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the fire.

10:24 PM Google Israel puts link for emergency numbers for residents in the Carmel Fire region on the main Google Israel page.

10:19 PM "Chessed" Organizations are distributing food to the hundreds and hundreds of emergency rescue volunteers on the scene; IDF, Police, Fire Department, Magen David Adom, United Hatzala and ZAKA. They are being given drinks, food and sufganiyot (jelly donuts)

10:17 PM 15 additional victims bodies found -- were previously defined as "missing"

10:10 PM Areas affected so far by the fire:

View Areas Affected by Carmel Fire in a larger map

10:05 PM Turkey offers aid in fighting the fire. Firefighter seriously wounded in Tirat HaCarmel area.

10:03 PM The Haifa Municipality said that all Hanukkah events scheduled for the weekend were canceled in light of the tragedy.

Updates from local Israeli websites: ynetnews, JPost, Haaretz

9:58 PMA sense of national tragedy is enveloping the nation of Israel as the huge fire burns out of control, threatening more and more communities in the Carmel region.

Tirat HaCarmel, a city of 20,000 people is now being ordered to evacuate as well.

9:48 PM Prime Minister Netanyahu announces "we will declare a day of national mourning, but now we must fight the fire"

News Roundup:

The following additional communities are being evacuated due to the raging, spreading fire:

Tirat HaCarmel Psychiatric Hospital
Chotrim
Migadim
Prison 6
Hafia University Student Dorms

Tehillim and prayer services commence in the Ponivitch Yeshiva in Bnei Brak and cars with loud speakers are going around Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, beseeching people to pray for the "burning land of Israel".

Communities around Israel are scrambling to provide housing and shelter for the families being evacuated from their homes in fire-ravaged area of the Carmel mountain range.

Heads of IDF, Police and Prime Minister at crisis management center near location of fire.

8:00 PM Definition of Irony: Greece to send firefighting planes to help Israel...on Chanuka.

40 confirmed dead. Magen David Adom reports that there are 67 Ambulances on the scene.

Community of GivatWolfson, people are trapped in their homes.

Channel 2 News reports that high winds are fanning the flames which is burning out of control.

Police announces that Police Commander Ahuva Tomer of Hafia has been critically wounded by the fire and is currently fighting for her life.

7:43 PM Channel 2 Israel TV announces that Israel's firefighters have exhasuted the national supply of fire-fighting chemicals, and the only resources available to fight the fire are water and firebreaks (pre-burned lines to prevent the fire from spreading.

The bodies of 22 prison services cadets have been identified so far.

7:35 PM Jameel here. Took hours to get home from Jerusalem as Highway 6 Northbound is a traffic lot, as firetrucks and emergency vehicles try to race northwards to try and contain the fire.

PM Netanyahu has requested fire fighting planes to help put out the fire from Russia,
Greece, Cyprus and Italy.

The IDF is about to evacuate Nir Etzion and 2 other communities due to the fire. Hafia University is on evacuation alert.

Magen David Adom emergency medical service has put central regions on high alert (myself included) as the fire at this time is completely out of control.

Estimates of killed range between 40 and 55 at this time.

All Firefighters in Israel have been put on emergency call up.

The primary areas of concern now are Nir Etzion, Highway 4, Osofiya, and what's left of Beit Oren.

6:00 PM 40 Prison Guards burned to death as bus overturns due to fire.

A massive fire has been raging out of control for hours since 11 AM this morning in Northern Israel in the Carmel region, near Kibbutz Beit Oren.

The Kibbutz has been evacuated, as has been the village of Osafiya and the the Damon prison.

Due to the smoke and fire, a buswhich was evacuating people from the prison overturned and there are unconfirmed reports of 11 fatalities and dozens of seriously wounded.

Magen David Adom, United Hatzala, Police, Fire Departments, and the IDF 669 airborne rescue unit are involved the emergency medical rescue operation.

More here and here.

Visiting Israel?
Learn to Shoot at Caliber-3 with top Israeli Anti-Terror Experts!

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk