Israel Police: No damage to Palestinian church in alleged arson

No damage was caused to ancient church ruins in the Palestinian village of Taybeh in Samaria despite media reports and statements to the contrary by high-ranking Christian officials who pointed the finger at “radical Israelis,” the Israel Police confirmed on Monday night.

“Contrary to misleading reports, no damage was caused to the Church of Saint George in Taybeh. The fire was limited to an adjacent open area, not the holy site,” according to the statement.

The commander of the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District has initiated “a thorough investigation,” it continued. “If arson is confirmed, justice will be pursued regardless of race or background. Due process is based on facts, not headlines.”

The statement noted that several Israelis and a Palestinian called emergency services to report the fire outside Taybeh on July 7.

Last week, the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem issued a statement claiming that “radical Israelis from nearby settlements intentionally set fire near the town’s cemetery and the Church of Saint George.”

A joint statement days earlier from the priests of the three churches in Taybeh—Father Daoud Khoury of the Greek Orthodox Church, Father Jacques-Noble Abed of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and Father Bashar Fawadleh of the Roman Catholic Church—claimed that “Israeli settlers deliberately ignited a fire near the town’s cemetery and the historic Church of Saint George (Al-Khadr), a fifth-century site considered one of the oldest religious landmarks in Palestine.”

U.S. Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Huckabee on Saturday paid a solidarity visit to the Samaria village and told residents the Trump administration “will certainly insist that those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh—or anywhere—be found and be prosecuted.”

Referring to the alleged incident, Huckabee said that “people need to pay a price for doing something that destroys that which belongs, not just to other people, but that which belongs to God,” calling the act “a sacrilege.”

On Tuesday, Huckabee stressed on X that he had “NOT attributed the cause of fire to any person or group as we don’t know for sure.”

“The press has,” the U.S. envoy tweeted. “I have said that regardless, it was [a] crime & deserves consequences.” Huckabee praised the Israel Police for their “search for truth w/o regard to assumptions.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) had joined the criticism on Sunday night, claiming on Fox News that “there was a Catholic church burned in the West Bank.” The pro-Israel senator said: “I’m incredibly upset by that.”

On Monday evening, the Binyamin Regional Council, which administers Jewish communities in southern Samaria, including the Taybeh area, said no damage was caused to the Church of Saint George.

“Here I am on the outskirts of the church. You can see the apse over here. And even on the outskirts or the outer walls, there are no signs of fire. I can’t find any,” the council’s international spokeswoman, Eliana Passentin, said in a video.

“But not far from the church, there was a shrub that was most probably burned in the fire. This happens all over Judea and Samaria,” she said.

“We are the guardians of the biblical heartland. This land was given to us by God—there is no reason for us to burn a church or to disrespect anyone else’s religion. We do not do that,” Passentin continued.

Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz, who also heads the Yesha Council umbrella group of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, thanked Huckabee for his “important clarification” on Monday night.

The U.S. envoy “is a true friend, and I value his integrity and willingness to stand with us, not only in support, but in seeking the truth,” stated Ganz. “His voice carries weight among Christian communities around the world, and his commitment to uncovering the facts is a powerful blow to those who seek to defame Israel and its citizens.”

Israeli right-wing activist Elisha Yered, who lives in Ramat Migron near Taybeh, claimed on Monday that in reality, Arabs had set fire to fields outside the village to prevent Jewish shepherds from grazing there.

According to Yered, Israelis from the nearby Rimonim Farm had put out the blaze “just before it reached the houses and, among other things, an ancient church and cemetery.”

The Israel Defense Forces recorded 663 instances of violent attacks by Jews against Palestinians or their property in Judea and Samaria last year, a 34% decrease compared to 2023.

Meanwhile, Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to data published by Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria).

Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group said in its annual report.