The Tel Aviv Municipality reported that it has not renewed Dizengoff Center's business license for 2001, because the mall's management had not met Fire and Rescue Service demands to install sprinklers. A suit was filed against the center in March for the oversight.

Meanwhile, police also are investigating the blaze that ravaged part of the Carmel Forest on Monday, after fire inspectors determined that it was started deliberately.

Haifa district Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Gershon Zauberman said cans of gasoline and rags had been found at the scene and that others had been discovered, indicating preparations for starting new fires.

"There is more than a strong suspicion that the fire was the result of arson. The findings have been given to the police so that it can start inquiries," said Zauberman.

The fire broke out shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday, between the abandoned Damoun Prison and Kibbutz Beit Oren. Given the hot weather and strong winds, it could easily have gotten out of control.

In Western Galilee, firemen fought for several hours on Monday night to extinguish a blaze that started in fields and spread to a wood veneer factory in Moshav Goren.

The fire, the cause of which is still under investigation, was brought under control after midnight.