Police are investigating the possibility that arson may have been the cause of a fire last night at the Mapam newspaper Al Hamishmar. A container with traces of kerosene in it was found by police near the editorial offices. The damage was slight and publication of the newspaper was uninterrupted. This was the third suspected arson attempt against newspapers here in the past few weeks.
A fire in the editorial office of Haolam Hazeh destroyed newspaper files and office equipment. Police said they found a stack of newspapers piled up in the center of the office which had been set afire. A week later, the offices of Hatzofeh, the Mizrachi newspaper, was also gutted by fire. Police suspected the arson was the work of religious extremists who disagreed with the newspaper’s editorial policies. The fire caused extensive damage to Hatzofeh’s printing equipment and one edition was published in Al Hamishmar’s printing plant.
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