Allegations that Jewish Israelis set fire to a historic church in the Palestinian town of Taybeh—drawing condemnation from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee—have proven to be false.
That’s according to footage published last night by Israel Police, which shows the church to be untouched by a recent fire.
Let’s quickly recap. Last week, senior church figures visited Taybeh, claiming that “radical Israelis from nearby settlements intentionally set fire near the town cemetery and the Church of Saint George.”
This attracted Huckabee’s attention, who visited the church on Saturday and later tweeted that Taybeh “has been vandalized-including fires set at ancient church…Desecrating a church, mosque or synagogue is a crime against humanity and God.”