Hamas Telegram post incites young Arabs to set fires in Judea and Samaria

The post followed severe wildfires that ignited on Wednesday morning in Mesilat Zion, causing road blockages, evacuations, and the cancellation of the annual live torch-lighting ceremony to mark Israel Independence Day.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Hamas posted a message on Telegram encouraging Arab youths to light fires in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.

The post followed severe wildfires that ignited on Wednesday morning in Mesilat Zion, causing road blockages, evacuations, and the cancellation of the annual live torch-lighting ceremony to mark Israel Independence Day.

Hamas encouraged readers to “Burn whatever you can: groves, forests, and settler homes.”

“Youth of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), youth of Jerusalem, and those inside Israel set their cars on fire. Gaza awaits revenge,” the terror group wrote.

Jenin News Network Telegram channel encouraged fellow Arabs to burn groves outside of settlers’ homes.

Also on the channel was a picture of a masked man setting fire to a field while a town burned in the background with a caption that said, “Settlers’ homes will be ashes under the feet of the revolutionaries” with the hashtag “Burn settlers’ houses.”

One video urged, “O youth of the West Bank, Let us become the undying flame of freedom. Turn their night into a blazing day. Revive the nightmares of occupation so they remember that every day is a battle for the resistance. Ignite the fires of freedom wherever you are. We will neither yield nor surrender until every inch of stolen land is set ablaze.”

A Palestinian news channel, “Akhbar Filastin,” with 112,000 followers, posted, “A call to the revolutionary youth and all the heroes of the West Bank. Settlers’ homes and the surrounding areas are your target. Burn them with your Molotov cocktails and set fire to the grass near the settlement outposts.”

Regarding the fires in Israel, the Security Agency (Shin Bet) joined in the investigation into the fires, suggesting authorities believe the fires were the result of terrorist arson attacks.

Israeli police reportedly arrested or detained three individuals on Wednesday in connection with a series of fires that erupted near Jerusalem during a period of extreme heat and strong winds. The blazes prompted evacuations, road closures, and the cancellation of numerous Independence Day events, including the official state torch-lighting ceremony. The suspects, whose identities were not disclosed in initial Israeli media reports, were apprehended within hours of the fires breaking out.