Israeli settler arrested for Jerusalem church arson

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli settler was arrested on Friday for an arson incident at a church in occupied Jerusalem.

“A 49-year-old suspect from Jerusalem arrived in the Church of Agony (Church of All Nations), poured flammable liquid, and set a fire, causing slight damage to one of the benches,” Israeli police said in a statement.

The suspect was caught by security guards at the church and later taken into custody by police, the statement added.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that the guards quickly doused the fire and caught the settler before the police came to take him away.

Over past years, Jewish settlers have carried out several such “price tag” attacks at Islamic and Christian sites in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

“Price tag” attacks or vandalism is a strategy used by extremist Jewish settlers to target Palestinians and their properties in retaliation for perceived threats to Israeli settlement activities.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara