Residents of several villages on the outskirts of Jerusalem were evacuated on Sunday because of a large forest fire nearby, Israeli police said, writes France24.

Firemen supported by firefighting aircraft were working to extinguish the blaze as the smoke blotted out the sky across much of the city.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said he had held a special meeting with security officials.

The fire threatened the villages of Beit Meir, Shoeva, Kissalon, Guvat Yearim and Ramat Raziel west of Jerusalem.