A wildfire in the hills near Jerusalem in August 2015. Photo: Israel Hayom video.

JNS.org – Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority will collaborate this October on a large civilian exercise aimed at improving regional cooperation in fighting wildfires. The move is being seen as a welcome development following the recent Israeli-Arab tensions over the Temple Mount.

The European Union-sponsored ‎Middle East Forest Fire drill, the first exercise of its kind, is scheduled to take place Oct. 22-26, with the aim of improving regional and international cooperation in dealing with large fires.

France, Italy, Spain, Croatia and other countries will send teams to the drill. The exercise will involve testing regional collaboration in emergency situations, including fighting simulated huge fires, carrying out search-and-rescue missions and extracting people trapped under ruins.

Dozens of Israeli firefighting, search-and-rescue and medical teams from the country’s Fire and Rescue Services, the IDF Homefront Command and the Magen David Adom emergency services group will participate in the drill.