Hundreds of firefighters in Chile have successfully brought under control a massive blaze that consumed 30,000 acres (12,500 hectares) of a national park in Patagonia, the government said early Monday. "Thanks to the great work of our firemen, and better weather conditions, the Torres del Paine fire is under control," President Sebastian Pinera wrote on his Twitter feed, according to news reports. Chile's top emergency official, Vicente Nunez, said, "We were able to keep the fire from spreading." Despite recent positive developments, the arrest of Israeli Rotem Singer, 23, on suspicion of starting the massive blaze, has led to rising anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiments among some in the country. Chilean authorities on Saturday arrested Singer, originally from Nes Tziona, alleging that negligence on his part sparked the fire. A Chilean court on Saturday ordered Singer to remain in the region, and he faces up to 60 days in jail and a fine if found guilty. Officials claim he failed to completely extinguish a fire set to burn toilet paper at a camp, but Singer, after originally admitting to starting the fire, as earlier reports have noted, now maintains he did not start the fire, claiming he is being made a scapegoat and is being tried in a court of public opinion. "People in the street have cursed me, and I was concerned they would hurt me, as well," Singer told Army Radio. "I was lucky to have other Israelis around me offering their support. I really hope this will all blow over in the next few days. "It's really important for me to say that I didn't do this," he said. "I was given a field trial. During the discussions I was assigned a local lawyer who could only speak Spanish, so I didn't even understand what I was being accused of." Singer said that people hurled insults and anti-Semitic remarks at him while he was walking to the courthouse for his hearing, shouting that he is a "shitty Jew," and also that Israel should compensate Chile for the cost of the fire. Meanwhile, the editorial pages of newspapers in Chile and South America were filled with verbal assaults on Israeli tourists. One newspaper wrote, "Israelis destroy nature and ruin tourist areas. Israelis aged 18-25 should be prohibited from entering Chile," while another said that Israeli army veterans "abuse Palestinians" and then, following their army service, "come to South America to abuse and ruin nature." Singer's father Yehezkel flew to Chile on Sunday to support his son, and has hired a local lawyer to represent him. "Rotem was very far away from the fire when it started, and he had days to run away if he was really to blame," the elder Singer said on Sunday. The Foreign Ministry said that the Israeli Ambassador to Chile, David Dadon, has instructed Consul Hili Ganor to travel to the city of Puerto Natales in the Chilean Patagonia to help Singer with his case. More than 500 firefighters are trying to quell the fire, which forced officials to evacuate 400 tourists and close the park, famed for its dramatic, snow-capped peaks, for the month of January, serving a blow to the area's economy.
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