Palestinian rioters in Gaza prepare to set a kite on fire to be flown across the border into Israel, May 11, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Ibraheem Abu Mustafa.

JNS.org – An incendiary kite landed in an Israeli vineyard in Samaria on Monday, starting an arson fire.

The kite landed in the Tura Winery near Mount Gerizim in Samaria, close to the Tomb of Joseph, the biblical son of Jacob whose bones were buried in Israel following the Jewish exodus from Egypt. Though a fire was started, it was quickly extinguished and harm to the vineyard was prevented.

According to Hadashot news, Palestinians in Judea and Samaria have begun utilizing the terrorist ploy invented by their counterparts in Gaza. In the last four months, hundreds of terrorist arson fires have been started by Gazans inside Israel through the use of flaming kites and balloons. More than 7,400 acres of agricultural and nature preserve lands have been burned, causing millions of shekels in damage.

Just this week, 200 beehives belonging to Israeli farmers were destroyed and the bees killed, causing the loss of all their honey just weeks before the Rosh Hashanah holiday, in which honey is featured prominently.

Last month, a fire balloon was found in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem, next to the Palestinian Authority-controlled Beit Jala and Bethlehem.