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Jewish settler jailed for church arson attack

December 13, 2017 at 3:47 pm

A Nazareth court has sentenced a Jewish settler to four years in prison and fined him 50,000 shekels ($14,000) for setting fire to the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Prosecutors had called for a nine-year sentence against Yinon Reuveni. Reuveni‘s lawyer, who is known for his racist sentiments, Itman Ben-Gvir, announced that he will appeal against the ruling.

Reuveni had set fire to the Catholic church believed by Christians to be where Jesus had performed the Loaves and Fishes Miracle. With the help of others, Reuveni’s act of arson damaged two rooms in the church complex.

Yehuda Asraf, another settler who owns the car that drove Reuveni to the church, was acquitted of a charge of aiding and abetting.

Read: Settlers throw stones at Palestinian farmers in Ramallah