Overview
- The Holy Redeemer Church in Jenin reported the fire at about 3 a.m. Monday, with the blaze gutting a synthetic Christmas tree and damaging part of the Nativity scene.
- Palestinian Authority police said the three arrests followed a review of surveillance footage and that tools believed to have been used were seized.
- Police condemned the incident as an apparent attempt to inflame religious divisions in the West Bank.
- The church quickly replaced the burned tree, held Christmas Mass as scheduled, and organized a ceremony with Muslim and Christian leaders, with the pastor calling the arson an isolated act.
- Photos posted by the church showed the tree’s stripped frame and ornaments scattered in the courtyard, as reporting notes broader security strains and a shrinking Christian minority in the West Bank.