Two suspects in the alleged arson attack on a historic church in northern Israel have been involved in attacks on churches and Palestinians, according to Israel’s Shin Bet security agency.
The two men, ages 19 and 20, were indicted July 29 in Nazareth Magistrate’s Court in connection with the June 18 attack on the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes.
“Administrative steps” will be taken against three other suspects who were not indicted, the Shin Bet said in a statement. The five are part of a group of activists with “an extremist ideology” that has operated since 2013, according to Shin Bet, and “aspires to change the regime and bring about the redemption via various stages of action.” Some of the activists reportedly also have been involved with the settler hilltop youth in the West Bank.
The group began with anti-Christian activity, including vandalizing and arson attacks on Christian sites, and tried unsuccessfully to disrupt the May 2014 visit to Israel and the West Bank of Pope Benedict XVI. In the last year it also perpetrated arson attacks on Palestinian homes, the Shin Bet said.
Along with the fire that struck the church, located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, graffiti reading “False idols will be smashed” and “pagans” were found on its walls. The site is where Jesus is believed to have fed thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish.
Built on the site of a fifth-century church, the church contains restored mosaic floors from the time period. The fire reportedly damaged the church roof and structure, as well as burned hundreds of books, according to the newspaper Haaretz. — jta