Massive forest fire in Israel forces evacuation

A large forest fire that broke out overnight Monday between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in Israel forced the evacuation of Neve Shalom, a Jewish-Arab coexistence community, on Tuesday morning.

The fire erupted late on Monday night in a natural forest in Latrun, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel's financial capital.

Some 60 firefighting teams and ten jets have been struggling to gain control over the blaze, said Yoram Levi, a spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Services.

So far no casualties have been reported.

"In the morning hours, the firefighters managed to push away the fire from the homes of Neve Shalom, yet to gain control over it," Levi said.

Local media reported that the flame rose to a height of 50 meters and cited an estimate by the Jewish National Fund, an organization in charge of the country's forests, saying the fire has consumed about 1,000 dunams (about 247 acres) of natural forest.

The fire broke out amidst a rare string of hot and dry days in November, in what seems to be a drought year. Endit