Settlers Dispute Report of Arson, Claim They Extinguished Fire

Jewish settlers in the Samaria region are disputing a report by Israel's Channel 13 that accused them of setting agricultural fields ablaze. The settlers maintain that they were, in fact, the ones who quickly extinguished a fire using firefighting equipment.

According to the settlers' account, a shepherd from the Tzur Levavi outpost in Benjamin, near Route 465, spotted the fire and alerted security. Residents from the outpost and a nearby settlement rushed to the scene to combat the blaze, arriving alongside fire trucks. They claim the fire was put out within minutes due to their rapid response.

The settlers provided details of their firefighting methods, stating that residents used rubber beaters and motor blowers to contain and extinguish the fire. They explained that this is a standard procedure for fires in open areas in the West Bank, where volunteers often arrive first with blowers to push the flames back before using beaters to fully extinguish them. They also noted that fire trucks are often less effective due to difficulties accessing the terrain.

The settlers further pointed out that Arab Telegram channels did not report on the incident, and that the video shared by Channel 13 was posted on an X account promoting the organization "Looking into the Eyes of the Occupation." They suggested that Channel 13 was "really trying hard" to link them to the fire, especially since the report allegedly lacked specific details like the location and time of the event.