Fires Destroy 60 Acres of Israel Forests : Arab Arson Blamed; Shamir Sees Threat to National Survival

JERUSALEM â€”  Fires attributed to Arab arsonists destroyed more than 60 acres of treasured forest in northern Israel today, and a rash of stone throwing signaled new momentum in the 6 1/2-month-old Palestinian uprising.

Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir called the new wave of violence an attempt to destroy the Jewish state.

“There is a wave of aggression, whether arson or murder, against the Jewish presence everywhere in the land of Israel,� Shamir told Israel army radio. “The problem is one of survival.�

Police, firefighters and volunteers, backed by army helicopters and planes, were on alert for arson. The uprising’s leaders had ordered Palestinians to set fire today to Israel’s farms, forests and factories.

Less Than Daily Average

Eight fires erupted, and all but one of those were of suspicious origins, police said. David Angel, spokesman for the Jewish National Fund, said that was less than the 18 average daily fires last week.

“It’s because we had so many people out looking,� he said.

The largest fire scorched 50 acres of woodlands in Mt. Gilboa, 70 miles north of Jerusalem, some of it part of a reforestation program. The blaze began overnight.

“You see years of work go up in smoke in a few minutes,� Avraham Yariv, head of the Gilboa Regional Council, told Israel radio. “You stand helpless before this terrible sight.�

Yariv said the fire was obviously arson because it started in four places.

Angel said another blaze destroyed 10 acres of woodlands near Kfar Qassem, north of Tel Aviv. “This was a young forest first planted a couple of years ago,� he said.

Loss of Trees Painful

The destruction of trees is especially painful to Israelis, who take pride in having made the desert bloom. Many of the trees were bought by American Jews in memory of relatives.

Police Commissioner David Krauss said the fires were set by Palestinians, some of them as young as 8 or 9.

In the last two months, fires have destroyed 35,000 acres in Israel, much of it cherished farmland and forest, about 10 times last year’s total.

Officials have put blame for at least half the fires on the uprising, which has claimed 210 Palestinian and four Israeli lives.

The arson has brought the Arab revolt into Israel proper and has been augmented by stone throwing and firebombings in Israeli cities and highways.