Israeli defense forces (IDF) say the raging fire in the Carmel forest is now under control and foreign firefighting assistance is no longer required, IDF announced in a statement on Sunday.
Since the wildfire began four days earlier, Israel had been struggling with one of the worst natural disasters in the nation’s history that killed 41 people and destroyed many homes.
Overwhelmed by the massive fire, Israel had asked for assistance from other countries. Sixteen nations—including the United States, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Jordan, Egypt, and several EU and Eastern European countries—answered the call sending firefighting ground crews, airplanes, and helicopters.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered stop the use of foreign aerial assistance to Israel and refrain from further requests for aerial firefighting assistance because of the assumption that the region of the fire, as of today, had enough firefighting planes to cover the area,” IDF published on its website Sunday at about 8 p.m. local time.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained the need for foreign help at the start of the Cabinet meeting on Sunday. “The only way to deal with these wildfires is to integrate not only ground forces but aerial forces as well, local and international alike. Thus the major powers have acted,” he said in his published statement.
He added, “In a massive wildfire in California a few years ago, the United States received assistance from eight countries; it neither hesitated nor was ashamed to request this assistance, including from countries from which we have made similar requests. In last summer’s massive wildfire in Russia, Russia neither hesitated nor was ashamed to request assistance from Ukraine and from other countries.”
In the past 15 years, international assistance in case of massive tragedies had become widespread in the diplomatic world, says Dr. Alon Liel, formerly director-general of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He ads that improvement in global transportation and media has led to a rise in such assistance. Moreover, such global efforts are not only led by governments, but nonprofit groups and private funders are taking the lead in “disaster diplomacy,” as he calls it.
State-to-state assistance can also bear diplomatic fruits, said Liel giving the example of the earthquake assistance to Turkey in 1999, saying it was one of the factors in bettering diplomatic relationships between Turkey and Greece.
There are some reports that Israel is trying to leverage Turkish assistance to improve the deteriorating relationship between Jerusalem and Ankara, he said.
Since the wildfire began four days earlier, Israel had been struggling with one of the worst natural disasters in the nation’s history that killed 41 people and destroyed many homes.
Overwhelmed by the massive fire, Israel had asked for assistance from other countries. Sixteen nations—including the United States, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Jordan, Egypt, and several EU and Eastern European countries—answered the call sending firefighting ground crews, airplanes, and helicopters.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered stop the use of foreign aerial assistance to Israel and refrain from further requests for aerial firefighting assistance because of the assumption that the region of the fire, as of today, had enough firefighting planes to cover the area,” IDF published on its website Sunday at about 8 p.m. local time.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained the need for foreign help at the start of the Cabinet meeting on Sunday. “The only way to deal with these wildfires is to integrate not only ground forces but aerial forces as well, local and international alike. Thus the major powers have acted,” he said in his published statement.
He added, “In a massive wildfire in California a few years ago, the United States received assistance from eight countries; it neither hesitated nor was ashamed to request this assistance, including from countries from which we have made similar requests. In last summer’s massive wildfire in Russia, Russia neither hesitated nor was ashamed to request assistance from Ukraine and from other countries.”
In the past 15 years, international assistance in case of massive tragedies had become widespread in the diplomatic world, says Dr. Alon Liel, formerly director-general of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He ads that improvement in global transportation and media has led to a rise in such assistance. Moreover, such global efforts are not only led by governments, but nonprofit groups and private funders are taking the lead in “disaster diplomacy,” as he calls it.
State-to-state assistance can also bear diplomatic fruits, said Liel giving the example of the earthquake assistance to Turkey in 1999, saying it was one of the factors in bettering diplomatic relationships between Turkey and Greece.
There are some reports that Israel is trying to leverage Turkish assistance to improve the deteriorating relationship between Jerusalem and Ankara, he said.
