JERUSALEM (JTA) — Three Palestinians were arrested on suspicion of carrying out arson attacks in the West Bank during last month’s forest fires.

The three men were arrested on Nov. 26, in a joint operation of the Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Police and the Shin Bet security agency, the Shin Bet said in a statement released on Sunday. The arrests had been under a gag order.

The three men, Hamdan Tzakar Hamdan Lami, 19; Jouad Muhammad Fayiz Daher, 19 and Vizid Ahmed Hamdan Lami, 24, are residents of the West Bank village of Iskaka, and are suspected of carrying out arson attacks near their village and near the southern approach to the city of Ariel in the northern West Bank.

The IDF investigation determined that the three had committed arson for nationalistic motives.

Three suspects were filmed by security cameras on Nov. 25 attempting to start a fire outside of Ariel, according to the Times of Israel.

Police officials have said they suspect arson in 29 of the 39 major fires, and in about one-third of the 90 total fires they investigated. There are no suspects in the large fires in Haifa and Zichron Yaakov, nor clear proof of arson. </s> next Image 1 of 3

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Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one of several large fires that damaged homes and prompted the evacuation of thousands of people over the past few days.

Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said on Thursday that police are investigating all possible causes, including arson. Windy and hot weather have helped fan the flames.

He says the blazes started three days ago at the Neve Shalom community near Jerusalem where Israelis and Arabs live together.

Later, fires erupted in the northern Israeli area of Zichron Yaakov and elsewhere near Jerusalem. In all, hundreds of homes have been damaged and thousands of people have been evacuated. About a dozen were treated for smoke inhalation.

Cyprus, Russia, Italy and other countries are assisting the Israeli firefighters with equipment as the fires continue.
Four Palestinians have been arrested in connection to the fires.