Israeli security forces arrested two Palestinian suspects overnight Sunday into Monday in connection with the massive fire that tore through the settlement of Havat Gilad over Shabbat, raising new questions about whether the blaze was deliberately set. The arrests came out of a joint operation involving Border Police undercover units, IDF forces, and police investigators, coordinated through the Shai District command.
The fire broke out Saturday afternoon in the Samaria settlement and left widespread destruction in its wake. According to official figures, 24 homes were damaged and 13 were burned to the ground, while a large lumber warehouse was completely destroyed. Total damage is estimated in the tens of millions of shekels.
Among those hit hardest were brothers Yehuda and Yehoyada Cohen, partners in Tzameret, the large Samaria lumber warehouse that burned down in an estimated 10 million shekel loss. The home of Yael Shevach, widow of Rabbi Raziel Shevach who was murdered in a 2018 terror attack, was also completely destroyed in the fire.
The two suspects have been transferred to the Shai District's investigative unit for continued questioning, with further decisions, including whether to seek an extension of their custody, expected to follow the findings of that investigation. Security forces said they would continue working determinedly to identify and bring to justice anyone involved in harming public safety and property.
Investigators had initially determined in the early stages of the probe that the fire was sparked by a discarded cigarette butt on the roadside. The overnight arrests now raise the possibility that the suspects were deliberately involved in causing the blaze, though authorities have not yet said how the two threads of the investigation fit together.
At the height of the original fire, 41 firefighting teams responded from multiple districts, along with ten firefighting aircraft from the Elad Squadron and a police helicopter. Security forces evacuated all residents from the settlement, and the incident ended without loss of life.
