Huckabee: I never blamed anyone for fire near Samaria church

After claiming fire in open area near ruins of an ancient church was an act of terrorism targeting the holy site, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee says media insinuated Israeli settlers to blame while he never posed accusations.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Tuesday denied blaming Israeli settlers for a fire sparked near the ruins of an ancient church in Samaria, saying that it was the media that attempted to prejudge the case.

Huckabee, a Baptist preacher and prominent member of the pro-Israel Evangelical community in the United States, appeared to intimate in comments over the weekend that the fire which broke out in a ridge covered in dry grass next to the ruins of the Church of Saint George in Taybeh was an attack on the holy site.

“One thing that we strongly agree on is that any desecration to a holy place… it’s unacceptable,” Huckabee said after visiting Taybeh over the weekend.

“To commit an act of sacrilege by desecrating a place that is supposed to be a place of worship, it is an act of terror, and it is a crime.”

However, some have challenged the claim, pushed by Taybeh’s leaders, that the fire actually targeted the stone ruins of the 1,500-year-old church.

An investigative report by TPS found inconsistencies in Palestinian claims that Israeli settlers set the fire.

In fact, video footage of the incident shows Israeli settlers – most of whom work at a nearby farm – trying to extinguish the blaze.

The fire in question was only one of four blazes reported in the area.

Jewish farmers and shepherds complained to police in all four instances, accusing Arabs of torching areas they used as pasture for their flocks.

Anti-Israel Arab activists have claimed that the settlers’ efforts to extinguish the blaze, in some instances using leaf blowers, were actually attempts to fan the flames.

However, video footage and photographs also show settlers with shovels attempting to extinguish the fires with dirt.

A representative of the Latin Patriarchate has admitted to TPS that there is no evidence linking Israelis to the fires, adding only that “this happened as part of a sequence of troubling incidents.

The incident quickly gained international, including from American lawmakers.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, mistakenly told Fox News that a church was “burned to the ground.”

“There was a Catholic church burned in the West Bank. I am incredibly upset by that. I am an unapologetic supporter of Israel. As a Christian you can go to Jerusalem and worship safely, as a Muslim you can do the same,” Graham said.

“But what is happening in the West Bank bothers the hell out of me. You have a Palestinian Catholic church burned to the ground, and I want to find out who did it, and I want them to be punished. And if it was settlers from the West Bank, Israelis, I want them punished. So I am going to write a letter to the Israeli government, I want an accounting of what happened.”

Overnight, Israeli police issued a statement clarifying that the fire was limited to an open field, and no damage was caused to any holy sites.

“Contrary to misleading reports, no damage was caused to the Church of Saint George in Taybeh,” the police department tweeted.

“The fire was limited to an adjacent open area, not the holy site. Emergency services received reports from local residents, including both Israelis and one Palestinian caller. The District Commander has initiated a thorough investigation. If arson is confirmed, justice will be pursued regardless of race or background. Due process is based on facts, not headlines.”

On Tuesday morning, Huckabee responded to the Israel Police’s statement accusing the media of blaming Israelis for the fire, denying he himself had done so.

While his statement on Saturday claimed the fire was an “act of terror” targeting the ruins of the ancient church, Huckabee did not clarify if he still believes this to be the case.

“Investigation reveals no damage to ancient church in Taybeh & investigation of origin of fire continues,” the ambassador tweeted.

“I have NOT attributed the cause of fire to any person or group as we don’t know for sure. The press has. I have said that regardless, it was crime & deserves consequences.”

“Taybeh is a beautiful village made up of mostly Arab Christians. Glad
@israelpolice continue search for truth w/o regard to assumptions.”