A series of fires broke out near Jerusalem and in northern Israel on Thursday, less than 24 hours after similar fires broke out in the same areas.

A fire broke out for the third time in 24 hours near the village of Even Sapir in southern Jerusalem, close to the Hadassah Ein-Karem medical center.

The Jerusalem firefighting service told the Walla news website that the fire reignited twice on Thursday, but that firefighters had managed to get it under control by late afternoon.

Police detained four Palestinians on suspicion of arson in the case.

On Wednesday, the commander of the Haifa District fire station told the Ynet news website that 20 teams were deployed against a blaze on the eastern slopes of Mt. Carmel.

Several planes dropping fire-retardant were called into action in the Jerusalem and Haifa fires.

Large fires were reported as well on Wednesday and Thursday near the Haifa-area town of Kiryat Tivon. As of Thursday afternoon, close to 20 firefighting teams were trying to control the flames, and major nearby highways were blocked.

Officials evacuated residents of two streets in the hilltop residential village, as flames set several houses ablaze.

In addition, authorities evacuated a nursing home in the area as a preemptive measure.

There were no reports of casualties in any of the blazes.