‘Carmel Fire Disaster Proved Israel Can’t Afford New War’

03/12/2010 The enormous blaze that broke out on the Carmel proved that Israel is not prepared for war or a mass terrorist strike that would cause many casualties in the home front.

In this context, Israeli daily Haaretz said that the Carmel huge fire will be remembered as the October War of the Fire and Rescue Service, who were not prepared to counter a disaster of such magnitude.

Haaretz said that it turned out that Israel is not prepared for war or a mass terrorist strike that would cause many casualties in the home front. “The warning of the outgoing Military Intelligence Chief, Amos Yadlin, that the next war will be a lot more difficult than past experiences, and that Tel Aviv will be a front line, was not translated into the necessary preparation by the authorities assigned the protection of the civilians,” the Israeli daily pointed out.

“Under such circumstances, it is best for Israel not to embark on war against Iran, which will involve thousands of missiles being fired on the home front,” Haaretz said. “After the Second Lebanon War, which exposed how pathetic the civil defense system was, reports were written, exercises were held, but everything broke down under the stress of a real emergency on the Carmel range − an area that already experienced the trauma of Hezbollah missiles.”

Furthermore, the Israeli daily pointed to the help Israel has asked for, an opportunity that wouldn’t be offered for the Zionist entity in the case of war. “Yesterday Israel asked for help from Cyprus and Greece, and the air force traveled to France to bring fire retardants to make up for the material that had run out. In war time, it is doubtful whether Israel will be able to rely on the generosity and largess of its neighbors.”

Haaretz noted that Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who is responsible for the firemen and the head of the Fire and Rescue Services, Shimon Romah, were nowhere to be found yesterday. “They are obvious candidates for losing their jobs as a result of the disaster,” the Israeli daily asserted.

The disaster has shown that the Israeli enemy was unable to face the incident alone, pushing Israeli officials to ask for international help.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Israel was not equipped to deal with the type and magnitude of blaze, which has been ravaging the area around Haifa for 24 hours. He thanked nations sending aid, which included Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, stressing that Israel can't fight massive brushfire alone.

"We can't say that the fire is under control," Israeli Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen told reporters on Friday evening as the largest wildfire in Israeli history continued to burn in the Carmel hills south of Haifa.

Cohen added that despite the assistance received and the cooperation amongst various organizations the fire is continuing to spread in several locations. "The event has not yet ended and even now there are some locations where the fire has not been taken care of," Cohen said. "Despite all the aid forces have received, we can't say that the fire is under control. Perhaps we will be able to say that by Saturday afternoon. The strategic plan of the police is still to save lives and to bring the event to an end as quickly as possible."

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