János Besenyő' BIO:
Colonel (ret.) János Besenyő had 31 years of experience in the Hungarian Defence Forces. In his last assignment he led the General Staff, Scientific Research Centre more than 4 years. He is an assistant professor of University of Obuda Doctoral School on Safety and Security Sciences and teaching African conflicts, European Security and Defence Policy, and conflict management. He is a lecturer in National Public Service University, Budapest (Doctoral School of Military Sciences), Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest (Doctoral School of History) and Eszterházy Károly University of Applied Sciences, Eger about African History, African conflicts, Hungarian participation in African peace operations, Western Sahara, terrorism, Christian-Muslim relations, Hungarian- African relations.
Abstract:
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.