"The fire does not distinguish between Jews and Arabs. There were fires in (the Arab town of) Umm al-Fahm and in other places. Unfortunately, there are those who decided to take advantage of this terrible situation to incite and lash out at an entire population. Those who love our motherland should focus now on putting out the fires and helping the victims rather than inflaming hatred. Now let's save what can be saved. Afterwards, if it turns out a despicable Jew or Arab did this act, he should be condemned and severely punished."
--Joint List Chairman, MK Ayman Odeh, himself an Arab resident of Haifa said Thursday as 60,000 residents were evacuated from the city.**

"From our point of view, above all saving lives is what leads us, and so we decided to come. Our motivation is very high, and we're happy to give help and human assistance."
--Suhail Abed, a firefighter from Qalqilya, Palestine, who helped Israeli firefighters put out flames in Haifa and outside Jerusalem.**

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You Must Be Kidding: 
"Though the initial concern was that the two were looking to commit arson out of nationalistic motives, after they were arrested, they were found to be known to the police to be part of a band of thieves. As such, the police began investigating whether the forest fire was caused due to security forces using equipment to light the way during the chase," Ynet reported.
--Israeli security forces may have sparked one of the fires in Israel due to negligence and their zealousness in suspecting Arabs.**

You Must Be Kidding: 
"The police should stop using Google Translate.”
-- Arab Knesset member Osama Saadia (Joint List) commenting on the ridiculous police detention of a Bedouin social activist, Anas Abudaabes, for a satirical post he wrote mocking Palestinians and Arabs who celebrated the fires in Israel. The police said the post was written in very high language and some would misinterpret it to think he was encouraging Arabs to set fires.**