Following are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments, which he made earlier this evening on the massive fire currently raging on Mt. Carmel, near Haifa:

“At this hour a terrible fire is ravaging Mt. Carmel; there are many casualties.  We are mobilizing all of our forces to deal with this disaster, to rescue the injured and to stop the fire.  This is an unprecedented disaster.

I spoke a few minutes ago with Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch.  His Ministry and the Israel Police are dealing with the matter responsibly and I have asked them to make every effort.  I also spoke with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who has offered the assistance of the IDF. I also spoke with Fire and Rescue Service Commissioner Shimon Romach and instructed him to request all necessary assistance in stopping the fire.

We have known difficult moments and, naturally, we will need to learn very many lessons in order to deal with disasters of this kind but right now all of our efforts are directed to saving lives and also watching over the lives of the forces dealing with the disaster.  I think that they are acting in an exemplary fashion, as President Shimon Peres has said, with courage, dedication and responsibility.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke with Cyprus President Demetris Christofias.  It was agreed Cyprus would soon dispatch its sole firefighting helicopter to Mt. Carmel in order to assist in the efforts to stop the fire. 

Prime Minister Netanyahu also spoke with his friend, Greek Prime Minister George A. Papandreou.  It was agreed that Greece would dispatch several of its firefighting helicopters to Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk)