Palestinian firefighters joined their Israeli counterparts on Tuesday to battle a blaze raging near Jerusalem, one of the latest wildfires to hit the Mediterranean.
“I would like to thank PA Chairman [Mahmoud] Abbas for … his initiative to send the firefighters who came to assist Israel today,” Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz wrote on Twitter.
The wildfire west of Jerusalem ignited on Sunday and has destroyed swathes of forest, sending smoke drifting across the city.
Roads have been closed and urban areas evacuated, although no serious injuries have been reported.
A total of 115 Israeli firefighting teams have been brought in to tackle the blaze, the country’s fire and rescue service said, as well as 10 aircraft.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was in discussions with Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy and other nations about possible international support. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid subsequently said such assistance was no longer needed.
The Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, did not immediately comment on sending firefighters from the occupied West Bank.
Despite their fractious relationship, the PA and Israel co-operate on a number of areas including security.
The Jerusalem area is the latest to be hit by devastating wildfires which have raged across the Mediterranean in recent weeks, hitting countries including Algeria, Greece and Turkey.
Wildfires continue across Northern Africa, Europe and Northern America and Canada - in pictures
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A firefighter battles the Dixie Fire along Highway 89 in Lassen National Forest, California, the US. -
A wildfire in northeastern Minnesota, in the Superior National Forest, prompted several evacuations. -
Firefighters and volunteers try to extinguish a blaze in the village of Markati, near Athens, Greece. -
A helicopter makes a water drop as a wildfire burns in the village of Navalmoral, Spain. -
An Israeli mother and son watch as firefighters battle wildfires for the second day near Shoresh, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. -
A volunteer helps tackle a wildfire in the village of Siderina, south of Athens. -
A man carries water containers as he helps to douse hotspots in an area hit by a wildfire in El Bir village, Bejaia province, Algeria. -
Volunteers try to extinguish a wildfire burning in the village of Markati, near Athens, Greece. -
A local tries to extinguish a fire in Markati -
A resident walks along a charred forest area following a wildfire in the region of Chefchaouen in northern Morocco. -
A volunteer helps to extinquish a wildfire in the village of Navalmoral, Spain. -
An Israeli firefighting plane drops flame retardant above Kiryat Ye'arim near Jerusalem, Israel. -
An Israeli firefighter combats the fire near Kibbutz Tzuba, Israel. -
As a huge wildfire spread in Jerusalem, emergency teams evacuated residents. -
Charred trees remain following a wildfire in the region of Chefchaouen, northern Morocco. -
A Royal Moroccan Air Force Canadair plane douses a wildfire in the region of Chefchaouen, northern Morocco. -
Smoke rises as wildfires continue for a second day in Jerusalem. -
Cattle grazes in an open field covered by wildfire smoke along Arlington Road during the Dixie Fire near Taylorsville, California, US. -
A burnt area is seen following a wildfire near the Israeli Kibbutz of Tzuba on the outskirts of Jerusalem. -
Vehicles leave Kibbutz Tzuba as fire spreads in Jerusalem, Israel. -
Volunteers try to extinguish a wildfire in the village of Markati, near Athens, Greece. -
Blazes rage around houses during a wildfire that broke out in the area of Keratea, Greece. -
Police officers attend to a wildfire in the village of Markati, near Athens, Greece. -
Volunteers help firefighters in Markati. -
A man takes a photo of the newly ignited Mount Law wildfire in Canada. -
Smoke bellows from wildfire in the mountains near the Piva lake, northwest Montenegro. -
Crews arrive at the scene where a Be-200 firefighting plane linked to Turkey's General Directorate of Forestry crashed in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. -
A firefighting helicopter flies in front of the sun which is shrouded in thick wildfire smoke near Lakeview, Oregon. -
Rescue teams rush to the scene of wildfires sweeping through forests in the region of Chefchaouen in northern Morocco. -
A woman stands on a mountainous side road with her belongings as wildfires spread across Morocco. -
Morocco joins several other Mediterranean countries that have seen forest fires in recent weeks, including neighbouring Algeria. -
Moroccans have been sweltering in temperatures of up to 49 degrees Celsius, according to weather authorities. -
People run away as smoke billows from fires that destroyed some 200 hectares of forest in Chefchaouen, northern Morocco. -
A pyrocumulus cloud, also known as a fire cloud, rises in the mountains above Lytton, British Columbia, Canada. -
The remains of a large structure and vehicles destroyed by the Lytton Creek wildfire are seen on the side of the Trans-Canada Highway near Lytton, British Columbia. -
Firefighters operate at the site of a wildfire between Navalacruz and Riofrio near Avila, central Spain. -
Goats wander through the abandoned, unburned streets looking for food after all residents were evacuated in Greenville, California. -
A couple view the newly ignited Mount Law wildfire, near Peachland and Glenrosa on the west side of Okanagan Lake, from the waterfront in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. -
A wildfire between Navalacruz and Riofrio in Spain is extinguished.
