Inferno Terror
Forest Fires as the New Form of Terrorism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4087827 |
|---|---|
| Authors | János Besenyő (0000-0001-7198-9328, Hungarian General Staff Scientific Research Centre, HDF Military Augmentation, Preparation and Training Command, Budapest, Hungary, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1229-1241 |
| Publication date | 2019-11-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Terrorism and Political Violence (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0954-6553 • E-ISSN: 1556-1836 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09546553.2017.1341876 |
| OpenAlex | W2735825014 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
Between the 18th and 26th of November 2016, 220 different locations went up in flames in the Israeli forest. Israeli firefighters were powerless to contain the fires, so army and police units had to contribute. Thousands of civilian volunteers also joined the fight against the fire. The Israeli firemen were unable to curb the continuously blazing fires, which is why the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, asked and received international support. The operation lasted for eight days, more than 1,700 fires were eliminated, but the conflagration caused considerable damage. Due to the extremely dry and windy periods, many blamed the weather conditions for the damage, but it soon became clear that in several cases, the cause was arson. Although arson as a method of extremism has been continuously practiced in many incidents worldwide, it is still beyond the scope of research on terrorism. This essay aims to prove that we have to raise awareness of the issue, highlighting both relevant incidents and the extremist group’s propaganda incentive towards the enhanced use of arson. We raise the question whether on the basis of the incidents in Israel, arson could become a frequently used method of European terrorist units or individuals. And if yes, how the national counter-terrorist and law-enforcement agencies may adapt to the challenge of hardly controllable arson in order to minimize the chance of similarly executed attacks in the future
Arson · Criminology · Economics · Forensic engineering · Incentive · Law enforcement · Political science · Politics · Prime minister · Sociology · Terrorism · Computer Science · Engineering · History · Law · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
| Citations per year | 0.6 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |