Authorities in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin have detained three Palestinians on allegations of deliberately setting a Christmas tree ablaze and damaging a portion of a Nativity scene at a local Catholic Church. This was confirmed by the Palestinian Authority police.
On Wednesday evening, police revealed that the arrests followed a thorough review of surveillance footage. Tools believed to have been used in the attack were confiscated from the suspects. The police strongly condemned the incident, labeling it an apparent effort to stir sectarian and religious discord in the West Bank.
The Holy Redeemer Church of Jenin shared images of the aftermath on social media, depicting the charred remains of a synthetic Christmas tree, stripped of its green plastic branches. Red and gold decorations lay scattered across the courtyard. According to the church, the attack took place around 3 a.m. on Monday, also damaging part of the Nativity display.
In a show of resilience and unity, the church swiftly replaced the burned tree with a new one the following day, just in time for Christmas Mass. A special ceremony was held, attended by both Muslim and Christian community leaders and local politicians. Rev. Amer Jubran, the church’s priest, emphasized that the incident was isolated and underscored the city’s commitment to harmony.
“This occasion reaffirmed that attempts to harm religious symbols will never diminish the spirit of the city nor the faith of its people,” the Holy Redeemer Church stated. The church declined to provide additional comments.
The Christian minority in the West Bank is increasingly facing threats from various quarters, including Israeli settlers and Palestinian extremists, prompting many to leave the region in search of safety.
Christians account for between 1%-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.
Israel, whose founding declaration includes safeguarding freedom of religion and all holy places, sees itself as an island of religious tolerance in a volatile region. But some church authorities and monitoring groups have lamented a recent increase in anti-Christian sentiment and harassment, particularly in Jerusalem’s Old City. Extremist Israeli settlers have also vandalized and torched areas around churches and Christian villages.
The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in the West Bank, with the Israeli military targeting militants in large-scale operations that have killed hundreds of Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands. That has coincided with a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Palestinian militants have attacked and killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has limited autonomy in parts of the territory, including Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank known as a militant stronghold.
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