Official: Israel responsible for settlers’ attack on church

Member of the Revolutionary Council of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), Dimitri Diliani, Tuesday held Israel fully responsible for the settlers’ attack on a church near the Jordanian border, under the watch of Israeli soldiers. Diliani said in a press release that the Israeli army evacuated the church at one o’clock in the morning, after more than four hours spent by the settlers in damaging the church and its contents.   The attack on the Orthodox church of St John the Baptist, located a few kilometers east of Jericho, came after strong opposition from Jordan against demolishing Magharbe gate ramp in East Jerusalem. Diliani said these settlers’ attacks are a result of the Israeli government’s policy that encourages such terrorist groups to attack Palestinians and their holy sites. He said that the extremist group vandalized the church and its contents under the watch of the Israeli army, damaging the church’s crosses, doors and windows.