Ammon News -

 His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, Saturday, condemned the attempt of Israeli extremists at burning the Church of Gethsemane in Jerusalem today.

Theophilos III issued a statement describing this attempt as a "racist crime" that exposes Israeli radical mentality in targeting churches and their properties.

His Beatitude said "this radical act is a crime inspired by an extreme ideology that seeks to drive Christians from the Holy Land ... I call on the international community to assume its role in protecting Christian shrines, and preserving the indigenous Christian presence in the Holy Land".

H.B. also praised efforts of His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Hashemite Custodian of Islamic and Christian Holy Sites in the Jerusalem, on local and international levels. H.B. pointed out that the crime of attempting to burn the Church of Gethsemane is no less appalling and horrible than the radical organizations’ attempts to control churches properties, especially in Jerusalem’s Bab al-Khalil (Jaffa Gate).

Theophilos III stressed that racism is a horrible enemy of all nations, and that peace, tolerance and coexistence are the ideal gateway to a bright future in the city of Jerusalem, which suffers from hatred, racism and the crimes they incite.