Church building burns down in Jerusalem

30/10/2010

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli settlers were allegedly behind the torching of a church building in Jerusalem on Friday evening, destroying the interior of what was until 1948 the Palestine Bible College.

Church guardian Zakariyya Al-Mashriqi said there was evidence that a "group of extremist settlers broke a window in the back of the two-story building and hurled fire bombs inside," resulting in the torching of the first floor.

Witnesses from the nearby Bikur Holim Hospital later said the fire was the result of an accident, pointing to candles from the church setting the blaze.

An Israeli police spokesperson did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Al-Mashriqi condemned the arson, saying it was meant to create division among Jerusalem leaders and ultimately to expel Palestinians from the area through ongoing attacks on their properties.

According to the government news network WAFA, the building, constructed in 1897, was initially used as part of the campus for the Palestine Bible College, which was shut down in 1948, when employees and church officials fled fighting and sought shelter in East Jerusalem. When Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, church officials returned to the building, which was refurbished in 1967.

The building was located on Prophets Street, which runs through both East and West Jerusalem.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=328887.