Three Palestinians have been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a Christmas tree and damaging part of a Nativity scene at a Catholic Church in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian Authority police said. Police said late Wednesday that the arrests were made after reviewing surveillance footage. Police said they seized tools from the suspects that they believe were used in the attack, reports the AP, and condemned the apparent attempt to incite sectarian and religious tensions in the West Bank.
The Holy Redeemer Church of Jenin posted photos on social media of the arson, showing the skeleton of a synthetic Christmas tree that had been gutted of the green plastic branches, with red and gold ornaments strewn across the courtyard. The church said that the attack occurred around 3am Monday and also damaged part of the Nativity scene. The church quickly cleaned the burned tree and erected a new one a day later, in time for Christmas Mass. The church held a special ceremony with the presence of local Muslim and Christian leaders and politicians. "This occasion reaffirmed that attempts to harm religious symbols will never diminish the spirit of the city nor the faith of its people," Holy Redeemer Church said in a statement.
The tiny Christian community in the West Bank is facing growing threats of extremism from multiple sides, including both Israeli settlers and Palestinian extremists, leading them to leave the region in droves. Christians account for between 1% and 2% of the West Bank's roughly 3 million residents, the vast majority of them Muslim. Across the wider Middle East, the Christian population has steadily declined as people have fled conflict and attacks.
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