Three Palestinians have been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to Christmas trees and damaging a nativity scene at a Catholic church in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian Authority police said.
Police said late Wednesday the arrests were made after reviewing surveillance video. Police said they had seized tools from the suspects that they believed were used in the attacks and condemned an apparent attempt to stoke sectarian and religious tensions in the West Bank.
The Holy Redeemer Church in Jenin posted photos of the arson incident on social media, showing the skeleton of a synthetic Christmas tree with green plastic branches removed and red and gold decorations strewn across the courtyard. The attack took place around 3 a.m. on Monday and parts of the nativity scene were also damaged, the church said.
The church quickly cleaned up the burned Christmas tree and erected a new one a day later, in time for Christmas Mass. A special ceremony was held at the church, attended by local Muslim and Christian leaders and politicians. The church’s local pastor, the Rev. Amir Jubran, said the arson incident was an isolated incident and underscored the city’s unity.
“This incident once again proves that attempts to harm religious symbols will never weaken the spirit of the city and the faith of its people,” Holy Redeemer Church said in a statement. The church did not respond to other requests for comment.
Small Christian communities in the West Bank are facing growing extremist threats from multiple parties, including Israeli settlers and Palestinian extremists, causing them to leave the area in droves.
Christians account for 1%-2% of the approximately 3 million residents of the West Bank, the vast majority of whom are Muslims. Across the Middle East, Christian populations have steadily declined as people flee conflict and attacks.
Israel, whose founding proclamation includes guarantees of religious freedom and all holy sites, sees itself as an island of religious tolerance in a troubled region. But some church authorities and watchdog groups lamented a recent increase in anti-Christian sentiment and harassment, particularly in Jerusalem’s Old City. Extremist Israeli settlers also destroyed and burned areas around churches and Christian villages.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has triggered a surge in violence in the West Bank, with Israeli forces conducting a massive operation against militants that has killed hundreds of Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands. At the same time, there has been an increase in settler violence and Palestinian attacks against Israelis. Palestinian militants attack and kill Israelis in Israel and the West Bank.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East War. The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has limited autonomy in parts of the territory, including Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank known as a militant stronghold.
