An international wave of condemnation and media outrage was triggered this month by reports that Jewish settlers set fire to an ancient church in the Christian Arab village of Taybeh in Samaria. But an investigation by The Press Service of Israel (TPS-IL), backed by video evidence and official police findings, reveals that these claims are not only misleading — they are demonstrably false.
On Monday night, the Israel Police released the results of their initial investigation, confirming that the Church of Saint George in Taybeh was never damaged. “Contrary to misleading reports, no damage was caused to the Church of Saint George in Taybeh,” the statement read. “The fire was limited to an adjacent open area, not the holy site.” Aerial imagery included in the police report substantiated this conclusion.
Emergency services, including one Palestinian caller and several Israeli ones, reported the fire, and the District Commander has opened a thorough investigation. “If arson is confirmed, justice will be pursued regardless of race or background,” police emphasized, adding: “Due process is based on facts, not headlines.”
Despite claims made by church leaders and Palestinian officials that the fire was the result of “radical Israeli arson,” video footage from the scene tells another story. Multiple videos reviewed by TPS-IL show Israeli youths from a nearby Jewish farm rushing toward the flames with fire extinguishing equipment, including reflective vests, shovels, and even a compressed air blower — a standard tool for fighting brush fires.
A young shepherd identified only as Y. told TPS-IL that while grazing sheep in a field near the church, a fire suddenly broke out and frightened the animals. He alerted the farm and attempted to put out the fire with his shirt before being assaulted by Palestinians emerging from the nearby cemetery.
Contrary to online rumors, no video shows settlers starting any fire — only attempting to extinguish it.
The fire near the Taybeh church was not an isolated incident. Between July 3 and July 11, at least four fires were reported in the same area. In each case, Jewish farmers and shepherds from the Rimmonim Farm filed police reports accusing local Arabs — including residents from Taybeh — of setting fires to disrupt grazing activity. According to testimony and documentation obtained by TPS-IL, the farmers’ pastures were repeatedly targeted with arson attacks.
Independent journalist Elisha Yered reported that the July 7 fire, which was later cited in international condemnations, was the second arson that week initiated by Taybeh residents. Yered noted that settlers fought to prevent the fire from spreading — even into Taybeh itself — and succeeded in extinguishing it before it reached homes or the church ruins.
“There was no act of Jewish nationalist crime, no church was set on fire, and no cemetery was desecrated,” Yered wrote. “Quite the opposite — Christian Arabs set fire to open fields four times in a single week to prevent Jews from grazing there.”
Despite the facts, the incident was rapidly politicized. Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and diplomats from over 20 countries visited the site, declaring the fire an act of hate by “radical Israelis.” U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham mistakenly told Fox News the church had been “burned to the ground” and pledged to demand answers from the Israeli government.
U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who had earlier called the fire an “act of terror,” later walked back the implication that settlers were to blame. “I have NOT attributed the cause of fire to any person or group,” he tweeted, adding, “The press has.”
According to Amit Barak, an expert on Christian affairs in Israel, the incident fits a troubling pattern of politicized misinformation involving church leadership. “In the past, people blamed ‘the Jew.’ Today, they blame ‘the settler,’” Barak told TPS-IL. He pointed to the Latin Patriarchate’s ties with anti-Israel groups like the World Council of Churches, which in June issued a statement labeling Israel an “apartheid state” and calling for international sanctions.
Barak warned that some church leaders have become “pawns” in an ideological war aimed at delegitimizing Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria. “They fall into the trap time and again. They don’t check facts — they echo narratives.”
Yesha Council chairman Israel Ganz echoed this concern: “We are being subjected to blood libels by Palestinian elements trying to create international conflict and delegitimize settlement in Judea and Samaria.”
Despite the outcry, TPS-IL confirmed that Taybeh’s municipal leadership has yet to file an official complaint with Israeli police. “The police have been investigating the incident for over a week without cooperation from the village,” Yered reported. “They claim to be certain that settlers set the fire, but they won’t even file a report.”
The claim that settlers torched an ancient Christian holy site in Samaria has captured headlines and sparked diplomatic outrage. But a careful investigation, supported by police data and firsthand documentation, reveals a starkly different reality: the church was never damaged, settlers tried to stop the fire, and the accusations appear to be based on politically motivated falsehoods.
