Jewish man arrested for setting fire to Roman Catholic church in Jerusalem

• Published date: 06 December 2020
• Date: 06 December 2020
• Author: CELIA JEAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The 49-year-old Israeli suspect poured flammable liquid inside the Roman Catholic church, also known as the Basilica of the Agony, and then set it alight before a church guard detained him and police took him for questioning.

The suspect is believed to be a Jew who holds extreme right-wing views, although no details were initially confirmed.

Nobody was hurt, but pictures from the scene showed some scorching of pews. Four teams of firefighters fought the blaze; a spokesman said that, "fortunately, it did not spread to the entire church." The smoke that accumulated was dispersed through ventilation.

Wadie Abunassar, adviser to the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries, said they are "grateful to God" that there was little damage done and that no one was hurt. He also thanked police for their swift work to arrest the suspect.

"We hope for a serious investigation, especially with regard to motive, because if the motive is truly suspected to be racist, I believe many conclusions should be drawn," Abunassar said.

He said the conclusions should not only be drawn "in...