A resident of the Israeli Arab village of Abu Ghosh has been indicted on charges of starting a forest fire in the area west of Jerusalem.

Abu Ghosh, friendly to Israelis for decades, is comprised mostly of Christian Arabs and is extremely popular both locally and abroad for its world-famous hummus.

Apparently one of its residents is not nearly as friendly to Israel, however. An indictment was filed in Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday against 19 year old Sa’id Abd al-Rahman, charging him with arson.

Rahman was accused of igniting a fire, using a lighter, last Sunday at a grove on HaTamar Street. He allegedly lit the blaze after a number of other fires were already burning in the area, according to the indictment.

Firefighters succeeded in extinguishing the blaze within 15 minutes – though not before half a dunam (1/8 acre) of forested land had already been destroyed.

The crime may indicate that Rahman intended to participate in an act of arson terror, a relatively new recent type of terrorism being perpetrated against Israeli by Palestinian Authority and Israeli Arabs especially in forested areas.

Will the State of Israel at last investigate the actions of MK Hanin Zoabi? The decision is up to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan.

But if they give a green light, police have recommended the government take a look into whether MK Hanin Zoabi has crossed the line into criminal incitement with her constant barbs against the State of Israel.

The straw that may have broken the camel’s back, finally, was an interview Zoabi gave – and a follow-up – in the wake of the terrorist kidnapping of three yeshiva boys who were hitchhiking home from Gush Etzion on June 12. Zoabi declared on TLV1 Radio that the kidnappers – discovered by Israeli intelligence to irrefutably to have been members of the Hamas terrorist organization – were “not terrorists.”

Instead, Zoabi declared, “They are not terrorists. I do not agree with you. They see no other way to change their reality and have to restort to these measures until Israel sobers up and feels the suffering of the others.”

In fact, she later added that perhaps it was Israel’s Defense Forces who were the terrorists, and maybe the boys weren’t kidnapped at all. She then accused the Palestinian Authority security forces of “treason” for cooperating with Israel to search for the kidnapped boys.

Knesset members from one end of the political spectrum to the other condemned her remarks with many calling for her dismissal – but Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein pointed out that he has no recourse to do so under Israeli law.

Zoabi has often made remarks — and acted — in ways that are more in line with representing the interests of the Palestinian Authority than those of the State of Israel, in whose parliament she participates.

In 2010 she supported and even participated in an illegal flotilla intended to violate Israel’s legal boundaries and break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza. That blockade is a defense against terrorist imports of weapons and ammunition that are used in attacks on civilians and IDF soldiers.

She has also been photographed in past years at unauthorized meetings with Hamas officials from Gaza.

The participation of an Israeli parliamentarian whose loyalty is questionable is deeply troubling because as a member of the government, she automatically has access to highly sensitive security information.

Several years ago, her predecessor in the Balad party, former MK Azmi Bishara, fled the country just prior to being charged with treason. Bishara was suspected of receiving large sums of money in exchange for handing over information on sensitive military sites and other security information to the enemy during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. He has since traveled from one enemy Arab nation to the next, broadcasting poisonous lectures against the State of Israel and recruiting terrorists for attacks against the country. For a long time he also managed to also draw a Knesset member’s pension for his time served as a legislator, since he succeeded in fleeing abroad before ever being charged with a crime.

A second Israeli-Arab boy, this time from the city of Umm El-Fahm, has had his life threatened for posting his photo on Facebook  holding an Israeli flag along with the hashtag #BringBackOurBoys.

He’s received messages to leave Umm El-Fahm, calling him a traitor, and threatening to kill him.

The boy is now afraid to leave his house or go to school.

Police are investigating.

Israel Police said Tuesday that three Arabs have been arrested for threatening to harm 17-year-old Mohammed Zoabi, an Arab citizen of Israel who has expressed strong support for Israel and criticised the Palestinian Authority. Police said the suspects are members of the Zoabi family who object to his support for Israel.

An Israeli Arab man dressed in women’s clothing was attacked and beaten during a day outing to the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Shechem.

Arutz Sheva reported that eyewitnesses said a group of women demanded he leave the city, but he continued walking toward’s the town center. A few minutes later, hundreds of local residents surrounded the cross-dressed man shouting curses and epithets and threatening to kill him. At one point, a group of youths approached him and started hitting him, saying that they had to “destroy his kind before they start multiplying.”

The website said that by the time Palestinian Authority police arrived, the man was surrounded the visitor and the situation had nearly reached riot proportions. Locals called the man an affront to the honor and dignity of Arab men.

Eventually, the man was taken to a police station, and from there hurtled away to a road outside the city – where he was dropped off, along with orders to stay out of Shechem.

Shechem city officials told the website,“residents of Shechem are not used to this kind of behavior, which is shameful. This individual does not represent Palestinian society, but himself. He was very inconsiderate of the feelings of local residents.”

The IDF has announced it will begin to send voluntary draft notices to all Christian Israelis, offering them the chance to enlist in Israel’s army.

The move comes as part of the universal draft law that has required hareidi religious Jews to enter the military as well.

The draft will be voluntary for Christians and will include the option of serving either in the IDF or in civilian (national) service. National Service usually entails work in hospitals, schools, youth movements and similar venues.

A number of Christian groups and veterans have organized an initiative to increase the number of Israeli Christians who enlist in the nation’s armed forces.

It has caused a major controversy among Israeli Arabs, who see the effort as an attempt to divide and weaken the community, despite an increase in those who wish to serve.

Approximately 500 Israeli Christians are currently enlisted in National Service, and 100 are serving in the IDF.

The terror victims association Almagor claims that on the list of terrorists to be released tomorrow are terrorists who are also Israeli citizens, according to a report in Arutz-7.

The organization says this goes against the promise made to them, that at least Arab terrorists who are also Israeli citizens would be released to the Palestinian Authority during this prisoner release.

Almagor is preparing a petition to the Supreme Court to block the release of those Arab terrorists they claim are also Israeli citizens.