Foreign planes combat Israel wildfires as arrests made

Foreign firefighting planes on Friday helped Israel tackle a wave of wildfires that have forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, as police announced a dozen related arrests.

Faced for the past four days with blazes across the country fed by drought and high winds, Israel received airborne assistance from Russia, Turkey, Greece and Croatia.

The flames in many places appeared to be easing somewhat despite the persistent wind, but a new fire erupted close to Jerusalem on Friday afternoon that the emergency services said was apparently started deliberately.

Support from France, Spain and others was due while a US Supertanker, considered the largest firefighting aircraft in the world, was expected to arrive Friday night.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel had also accepted pledges of support from neighbours Jordan and Egypt.

On the ground, Palestinian firefighters on Thursday night joined the Israelis, sending four fire engines to the northern city of Haifa and four more to the village of Beit Meir, near Jerusalem.

The fires in the mixed Palestinian and Jewish city were "under control" on Friday, but dozens of houses were completely destroyed.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said some of the foreign planes were in action on Friday.

"We are deeply grateful to the international community," he said. "Its mobilisation proves that in times of crisis we can count on many friends in this region and beyond."

The rising number of fires since Tuesday has stretched Israel's capacity to deal with them, raising questions over lessons learned since a devastating blaze near Haifa killed 44 people in 2010.

Statements by several Israeli officials have implicated Palestinian, with Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan saying that up to half of the blazes had been "arson terror".

Rosenfeld said they had made 12 arrests in the past 24 hours, without providing details on their identities.

Some are suspected of criminal negligence leading to accidental fires in tinder-dry woodland and undergrowth, while there are also suspicions that some may have been deliberate and related to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.