Israeli Prime minister condemns arson attack on Church of Loaves and Fishes

oge okonkwo

June 22, 2015 6:51 PM

The attackers started a fire at the limestone church, which is attached to a Benedictine monastery, 120 miles north of Jerusalem, injuring two people and leaving the place of worship in ruins

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Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the arson attack on a church on the shore of the Sea of Galilee as "an attack on us all."

The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes in Tabgha is the site where Christians believe Jesus performed a miracle by feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish.

The attackers started a fire at the limestone church, which is attached to a Benedictine monastery, 120 miles north of Jerusalem, injuring two people and leaving the place of worship in ruins.

The church was built in the 1980s on the site of 4th and 5th century churches, the Catholic News Agency reported.

Christian Post reports that Netanyahu denounced the attack, saying "in Israel freedom of worship is one of our core values and is guaranteed under the law. Those responsible for this despicable crime will face the full force of the law. Hate and intolerance have no place in our society."

He was joined by Israeli president Reuven Rivlin, who said that "such terrible desecration of an ancient and holy place of prayer, is an attack on the very fabric of life in our country. Israel, as a state and a society, is obligated to protect and preserve the holy sites, for all faiths."

"The torching of the church is a cowardly and despicable act which contradicts Israel's basic values," Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan said in a statement, according to NBC News.

oge okonkwo