Palestinian Authority police have arrested three local men suspected of setting fire to a Christmas tree and damaging a Nativity scene at the Holy Redeemer Latin Church in Jenin. The incident took place in the early hours of Monday morning, around 3 a.m., when intruders targeted the church courtyard.
Surveillance footage led to the quick arrests, and authorities seized tools believed to be used in the arson. Police described the act as an effort to stir up religious tensions in the area.
The church posted images on social media showing the charred remains of the synthetic tree—its green branches melted away, leaving a bare frame with ornaments scattered on the ground.
Parishioners wasted no time cleaning up the damage. By the next day, they had installed a new tree in time for Christmas services.
A special ceremony followed, bringing together Christian and Muslim leaders from the city along with local officials. Rev. Amer Jubran, the parish priest, called it an isolated event and pointed to the community’s shared resolve.
“This occasion reaffirmed that attempts to harm religious symbols will never diminish the spirit of the city nor the faith of its people,” the church stated.
The Holy Redeemer Church stands in Jenin, a northern West Bank city long known as a hotspot for militant activity.
Christians form a small minority there—just 1 to 2 percent of the West Bank’s population, with most residents Muslim. Across the broader Middle East, Christian communities have shrunk over decades amid ongoing conflicts and pressures.
Many believers see attacks like this as part of a larger pattern that drives families to leave the lands where their faith began. The birth of Jesus, celebrated at Christmas with trees and Nativity displays, took place in nearby Bethlehem under humble and threatened circumstances.
Yet the quick replacement of the tree and the united gathering show a determination to hold fast to traditions. In a region torn by violence, such acts of defiance remind people that light can push back against deliberate darkness.
