Gethsemane church in Jerusalem targeted in arson attack
The Basilica of the Agony, located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem next to the Garden of Gethsemane, also known as the Church of All Nations, was probably the target of an arson attack.
Israeli police said on the 4th of December that they had arrested a 49-year-old Jewish man who “poured flammable liquid inside the church.” The fire damaged a Byzantine mosaic but did not spread to the church’s structure.
The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries, which is composed of the leaders of the Holy Land’s Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, shared pictures in a joint statement of several pews blackened by smoke.
“As we thank God that the fire was quickly extinguished, we thank the police for their swift action and arrest of the suspect. We also demand that the police seriously investigate this arson attack, especially since it seems that it is racially motivated,” the ordinaries said.
Source: Catholic News Agency
