Israeli police on Friday arrested a man for trying to set fire to an east Jerusalem church by the Garden of Gethsemane, the site revered by Christians as the place where Jesus prayed before he was crucified. The 49-year-old Israeli suspect poured flammable liquid inside the Church of All Nations, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The man then set it alight, a separate police statement said, before the church guard detained him. “Preliminary investigation and the suspect’s details strengthen the assessment that the background to the incident was criminal,” police said, suggesting investigators believed it was not a hate crime. Reuters pictures showed a charred bench and a small blackened portion of the mosaic floor of the Catholic church, which overlooks Jerusalem’s walled Old City. “T...
Nigeria needs focus and consistent prayers to avoid breaking up from the current cracks in the nation’s walls, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has said. This is even as he made reference to the biblical story of how Nehemiah rebuilt the broken walls of Jerusalem. The vice president, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, made the call at a church service held to commemorate Nigeria’s 60th Independence anniversary at the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja on Sunday, according to a report. “Fortunately for us, our walls are not yet broken but there are obvious cracks that could lead to a break if not properly addressed. “Nehemiah started with fervent prayers, seeking the face of God and pleaded with his king to allow him return to Jerusal...
Lebanese group Hezbollah denied any involvement in a border clash with Israel after Jerusalem said it had repelled an attempt by the militant group to penetrate its northern border on Monday, The border clash, which Israel said included an exchange of fire between its troops and gunmen, followed days of reported heightened tensions between Hezbollah and the Jewish state. “Today, a Hezbollah cell penetrated Israeli territory,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address, adding that the army succeeded in thwarting the “attempted attack”. “Hezbollah is playing with fire and our response will be very strong,” the veteran premier added, insisting that the Shiite group and the Lebanese government, “carry responsibility” for Monday’s incident. Israel’s army said a grou...