Firefighters had brought wildfires on the outskirts of Jerusalem under control on Thursday after battling the blazes for a second consecutive day, according to Israel’s fire and rescue service.
The authorities reopened the main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and allowed evacuees to return to their homes in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“Control has been declared over the big fire,” the fire and rescue service said in a statement Thursday evening.
Earlier on Thursday, with winds forecast to pick up, firefighters raced to extinguish the fires, said Tal Volvovitch, a spokeswoman for the fire and rescue service.
The exact cause of the fires was unclear, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said that 18 people had been detained on suspicion of arson, including one who he said had been caught in the act. But Aryeh Doron, a spokesman for the Israeli police, said only three people had been arrested on suspicion of arson.
On Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu said strong winds, dryness and open areas with shrubbery had created a “deadly combination” that fueled the fires. On Thursday, the Israeli police arrested a 19-year-old man from a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem after they said he wrote on social media in support of the wildfires.
Firefighting planes from Croatia, Italy and Cyprus had been scheduled to arrive on Thursday afternoon to help the Israeli effort, Ms. Volovitch said.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, had also offered to help, according to Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official. But Ms. Volovitch suggested they would not be joining the firefighting efforts.
In 2021, Palestinian firefighters joined Israeli efforts to deal with a similar wildfire near Jerusalem. The current Israeli government has frequently criticized the Palestinian Authority, even though they cooperate closely on security in the West Bank.
Israel’s fire and rescue service issued an order banning the lighting of fires in open spaces until May 7, but it said Israelis could hold barbecues in designated areas. Many Israelis flock annually to parks and beaches to hold barbecues on Independence Day, a holiday to commemorate the founding of the country.
Rawan Sheikh Ahmad and Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting to this article.
