A Catholic church near the Sea of Galilee was heavily damaged by fire Thursday in a possible arson attack by Jewish extremists.
Israel police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a fire broke out at the Church of the Multiplication in the middle of the night, causing extensive damage to the inside and outside of the building.
Rosenfeld said police are investigating whether the fire was deliberate and are searching for suspects. A passage from a Jewish prayer, calling for the wiping out of idol worship, was found scrawled in red spray paint on a wall outside the church.
Father Matthias Karl, a German monk from the church, said a souvenir shop, an office for pilgrims and a meeting room were badly damaged, and bibles and prayer books were destroyed in the fire.
"It's totally destroyed. The fire was very active," he said.
A monk and a church volunteer were hospitalized from smoke inhalation, but the prayer area of the church was unaffected by the fire, he said.
In recent years, mosques and churches have been targeted by vandals in similar attacks, which are widely condemned across the political spectrum in Israel. Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely condemned Thursday's church burning and said Israel respects freedom of worship for all religions.
Last year, a group of mostly Jewish youth attacked the Church of the Multiplication's outdoor prayer area along the Sea of Galilee, Father Matthias said, pelting worshippers with stones, destroying a cross and throwing benches into the lake.
The Roman Catholic church, also known as the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, is a modern church built on the remains of a fifth-century Byzantine church. It marks the traditional spot of Jesus' miracle of the loaves and fish, and is located in Tabgha on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel.
Its Byzantine mosaic floor draws thousands of visitors of all faiths each year, Father Matthias said.
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