Education Minister Naftali Bennett blamed "pyro-terrorism" for the latest wave of fires, and said Israel ought to respond by expanding settlement construction in the West Bank.

"We will build more and bigger houses for every [damaged] house," Bennett said while on a visit to the fire-struck settlement Halamish, where weekend blazes damaged a number of homes.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, also while visiting in Halamish, said the best answer to the destruction was to "expand settlements."

Lieberman said there was data showing that 17 of about 100 fires in the past few days had been caused by arson. He didn't provide a theory to explain the other fires.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised residents of Haifa, the city hardest hit by the fires, there would be speedy government assistance forthcoming to help rebuid their homes.

The cabinet held its weekly session in Haifa where hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed in a weeklong conflagration that has been Israel's worst bout of fires ever.

The blazes have been blamed in part on arson, and also on unusually dry weather, which has eased the way for the spreading flames. More than 20,000 dunams of woodland have been destroyed.

Netanyahu pledged at the cabinet meeting to "cut the bureaucracy and help rebuild as soon as possible."

"We will help you rebuild your homes," he said.

Netanyahu praised Israeli firefighters for quelling the blazes he said were much more complicated than the deadlier Mount Carmel fire of six years ago in which 44 people perished.

Israel called in help from nearby countries, and hired a super tanker from the U.S. to help extinguish the fires. Greece, Croatia, Italy and Cyprus sent in aircraft and firefighters to assist. The Palestinian Authority also sent a contingency, and Jordan and Egypt offered to help as well.

In Parliament, meanwhile, Habayit Hayehudi MK Nissan Slomiansky, chairman of the Knesset Law Committee, introduced a bill to set a minimum punishment of three years for arson, and permit the courts to levy a punitive fine as well.

Four Israeli Arabs held for suspected arson were expected to be brought before judges to extend their remand.