Israel’s Arab and Muslim Allies Aid in Firefighting Effort
by JNS.org
Israeli ZAKA volunteers respond to one of the recent fires in Israel. Photo: Roi Levi.
JNS.org — In a show of regional cooperation and solidarity, several of Israel’s Arab and Muslim allies have sent firefighting equipment to help douse the fires raging across the Jewish state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday that Egypt will send two helicopters, while Jordan is dispatching a number of fire trucks to battle the blazes. Azerbaijan, a Muslim-majority nation and one of Israel’s closest allies in central Asia, announced Friday that it sent BE-200CS amphibious aircraft to Israel, the Azeri News Agency reported.
The moves by Egypt, Jordan and Azerbaijan come after Turkey sent aid Thursday.
The Palestinian Authority is also contributing to the firefighting effort, sending several firefighters from the West Bank to battle blazes in northern Israel.
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“Fire doesn’t distinguish between Jews and Arabs,” Member of Knesset Ayman Odeh, chairman of the Joint Arab List party, said Thursday.
The show of solidarity from Arab and Muslim allies was a welcome sign for Israel after Arabic-speaking social media users had used the hashtag “Israel is burning” to celebrate the destruction.
Israel has also received help from a number of its non-Muslim allies in Europe.
“Thank you Cyprus, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Romania & Bulgaria for sending help to fight the fires in Israel. True friends!” the Israeli Foreign Ministry tweeted.
