A nun at the destroyed church
Photo: AFP
Police arrests 3 Jewish youth suspected of arson at Galilee church
Fire caused extensive damage to Church of Loaves and Fishes, where perpetrators left Hebrew graffiti denouncing the worship of idols.
The Judea and Samaria police and the Shin Bet arrested three Jewish youth who are suspected of being involved in the arson at the Church of Loaves and Fishes
in northern Israel about a month ago, it was cleared for publication on Sunday.
The three were placed under an order preventing them from meeting a lawyer, and will be brought for a remand extension at the Magistrate's Court in Nazareth on Sunday.
They are represented by Honenu attorneys Adi Kedar and Aharon Roza, who appealed against the order to the Magistrate's and District courts in Jerusalem.
"This unusual order is reserved for serious security offenses only, and not for property offenses like the one in this case," Honenu said in a statement.
Firefighter at the church (Photo: AFP)
The Shin Bet said Sunday that a covert investigation led them to the three suspects.
The church, which Christians believe is where Jesus performed the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes, lies on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and is a traditional site of pilgrimage in the Holy Land.
A spokesman for the fire brigade said a preliminary investigation showed the blaze broke out in several places inside the church, evidence that it was started deliberately.
Police initially arrested 16 youths, all yeshiva students from West Bank settlements, but released them shortly after.
