Route 443 partially closed as wildfires spread toward city of Modi’in

Israel's Route 443 was intermittently closed to traffic Thursday morning due to a wildfire in the area of the Maccabim checkpoint. The blaze then spread west in the direction of a commercial center in the city of Modi'in. Two firefighting helicopters have been sent into the air and six firefighting teams are operating in the area. The residents of several streets in the city have been instructed to stay in their homes. For more details on the alleged terror-by-arson with over 200 wildfires in Israel over the past two days, see DEBKAfile's special report.