Bird Sent To Israel From Gaza Wearing A Harness Holding Flammable Material
Common Kestrel Image by iStock
JERUSALEM (JTA) — First kites and balloons, and now birds are being used to by Palestinians in Gaza to set fires in southern Israel.
Israel Nature and Parks Authority personnel on Monday afternoon found a common kestrel, a member of the falcon family, hanging from a burned tree wearing a harness to which was attached a wire wrapped around flammable material.
The bird was discovered after workers put out a fire that had broken out in Habesor National Park.
It is the first time that an animal has been used to ignite fires, according to a statement from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
The authority said it is considering the possibility of filing a complaint – under the appropriate international treaties – over the use of an animal for terrorism.
At least eight large fires burned in southern Israel near the border with Gaza on Monday.
Meanwhile, on Monday evening, Israel announced it would again close the Kerem Shalom crossing, the only crossing for commercial goods and the main crossing for humanitarian aid between Israel and Gaza, after a rocket was fired into southern Israel earlier in the day despite a cease fire declared by Hamas late Saturday night.
The closure, which cuts off fuel and gas supplies to the coastal strip, will remain in effect until Sunday, the Defense Ministry announced. Food and medicines will continue to be allowed to pass through the crossing to Gaza, but each shipment will require individual approval.
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
