INTERNACIONAL
Disputed fire by ancient church in Holy Land sparks diplomatic, religious fallout
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Israeli police late Monday dismissed reports alleging that Jewish settlers set fire to the archaeological site of the Church of St. George in the village of Taybeh in the West Bank, calling them «factually incorrect,» lacking evidence and potentially misleading to the public.
According to police, a probe was launched last Thursday by a specialized team within the Judea and Samaria Central Investigations Unit (YAMAR) under the direction of the district commander. An internal committee was also tasked with reviewing the timeline of events recorded in police information systems, assessing the handling of reports and complaints, and evaluating the response.
«Findings gathered on the ground unequivocally show that no damage or harm was caused to the holy site itself,» police said.
DISPUTE OVER CHRISTIAN GROUPS’ VISAS TO ISRAEL RESOLVED AFTER HUCKABEE THREAT
An aerial view of Taybeh shows the remnants of a fire in a field located adjacent to the Church of St. George. (Courtesy: Israel Police)
The statement noted that a small fire had occurred in an open area near the site, but no buildings, crops or infrastructure were damaged.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee noted on X that Taybeh was «a beautiful village made up of mostly Arab Christians. Glad [the Israel Police] continue [to] search for truth [without] regard to assumptions.»
Huckabee pointedly added: «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 [a] crime [and] deserves consequences.»
An exclusive investigation by The Press Service of Israel (TPS-IL) first raised questions over the fire, having uncovered evidence that local Jewish residents had participated in firefighting efforts near the church and raised significant doubts about the cause of the blaze.
TPS-IL also documented additional fires on July 7, 8 and 11 in nearby pastureland, located dozens of meters from the church compound. In each instance, a Jewish farmer with a property adjacent to the site filed complaints with police, claiming the areas where animals were grazing had been deliberately set ablaze.
Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee during a tour of the Church of St. George area, the site of a fire, during his visit to the West Bank town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Last weekend, Huckabee visited Taybeh, where he called for accountability. «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,» he said in a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. «There should be consequences, and it should be harsh consequences because it is one of the last bastions of our civilization, the places where we worship.»
The visit came after the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem issued a statement claiming that «radical Israelis from nearby settlements intentionally set fire near the town’s cemetery and the Church of Saint George.»
A joint statement days earlier from the priests of the three churches in Taybeh – the Greek Orthodox Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church – blamed «Israeli settlers» for «deliberately ignit[ing] a fire near the town’s cemetery and the historic Church of Saint George (Al-Khadr), a fifth-century site considered one of the oldest religious landmarks in Palestine.»
A screenshot shows two Israeli shepherds trying to put out a fire near the Byzantine-period church in the Palestinian village of Taybeh on July 7, 2025. (TPS-IL)
HUCKABEE DEMANDS ISRAEL ‘AGGRESSIVELY INVESTIGATE’ MURDER OF PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN KILLED IN ‘TERRORIST ACT’
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III accused «radical Israelis from nearby settlements» of «a targeted attack.»
Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital that Israel must take a more assertive approach in handling incidents that could impact its international standing.
«We are in the middle of the most consequential war since the founding of the state, and events like this are just as dangerous,» he said.
He emphasized the importance of reinforcing Israel’s role in safeguarding Christian heritage and holy sites, particularly in contested areas.
«This includes exposing the PLO and Hamas’ ongoing war against Christian citizens, but it also requires transparency and assertiveness in showing our role as guardians of Christian sites and civilization in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem,» said Diker.
An aerial view showing St. George church on the West Bank. (TPS-IL)
He also pointed to what he described as a coordinated effort by the Palestinian leadership to undermine Israel’s legitimacy on the global stage, particularly through the media.
«We are in the midst of an international crusade by the Palestinian leadership to uproot our legitimacy,» he said. «The international media has become an ecosystem for the defamation and delegitimization of Israel. They are weaponizing every event into an existential assault.»
On Monday night, the Binyamin Regional Council, which administers Jewish communities in southern Samaria, confirmed the church incurred no damage.
«Here I am on the outskirts of the church. You can see the apse over here. And even on the outskirts or the outer walls, there are no signs of fire,» the council’s international spokeswoman, Eliana Passentin, said in a video.
«We are the guardians of the biblical heartland. This land was given to us by God – there is no reason for us to burn a church or to disrespect anyone else’s religion,» she added.
Speaking to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Passentin recalled bringing visitors to the local brewery in Taybeh, which was so well-regarded that a rabbi granted it kosher certification. She noted that Israelis and Christian Arabs had coexisted peacefully in the area for years, but expressed concern that the community now identifies itself with a Palestinian state that does not formally exist.
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«When I was walking around, one of the priests in Taybeh said he believed in the two-state solution and it felt as if the P.A. was putting a lot of pressure on the Christians,» Passentin said.
She suggested that the latest crisis was manufactured by those seeking to divide Jews and Christians, whom she described as joint guardians of Judea and Samaria.
«We are striving for peace,» she said. «This is the land of the Bible, and we should be building it together – not fighting or spreading false blood libels accusing Jews of burning down a church.»
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Congressional Democrats are trying to get on the same page and display a unified front after threatening to derail the government funding process.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., met behind closed doors Tuesday night, along with the top Democrats in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, to plot a course forward in the forthcoming government funding fight.
SENATE WEATHERS DEM OPPOSITION, ADVANCES FIRST GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., turns to an aide during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The meeting came after Democrats in the upper chamber overwhelmingly supported the first government funding bill to hit the Senate floor, one that would fund military construction and Veterans Affairs. Ahead of the vote, Senate Democrats had signaled they may vote against the bill and further obstruct the appropriations process because of highly partisan legislation rammed through the upper chamber by Senate Republicans.
«We all want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process,» Schumer said. «That’s how it’s always been done, successfully, and we believe that, however, the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that.»
The meeting just off the Senate floor was meant to get congressional Democrats on board with a messaging plan over the next weeks and months ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government.
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS FACE BRUISING BATTLE TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is seen after the Senate luncheons in the U.S. Capitol on June 24, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
It was also likely designed to prevent a repeat of the Democratic debacle in March, when Schumer broke with Jeffries and threatened to shutter the government before ultimately caving and providing Republicans the votes necessary to advance yet another government funding extension, known as a continuing resolution.
Republicans are quick to point out that when Schumer led the upper chamber, none of the House GOP’s spending bills made it to the floor — in Congress, the spending process begins in the lower chamber.
Since taking over earlier this year, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has committed to returning to regular order, or passing each of the dozen spending bills to fund the government, and trying to get the appropriations process back to normal.
However, it’s a feat that hasn’t been successfully done in Washington since the late 1990s.
«Frankly, I think a lot of us around here think [this] is long overdue,» Thune said.
However, Democrats contend that their trust in Republicans is wearing thin after two major partisan bills, one being President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill,» and the other the president’s $9 billion clawback package, were pushed through the chamber without any Democratic input.
‘BAIT AND SWITCH’: SCHUMER WARNS OF BITTER FUNDING FIGHT OVER GOP CUTS PLAN
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Thune argued that Senate Democrats were using the rescissions package to shut down the appropriations process and effectively shut down the government.
In the Senate, most bills that come to the floor require at least 60 votes to smash through the filibuster, meaning that most legislation requires bipartisan support to some extent.
Earlier this year, the House GOP produced a partisan government funding extension that was a tough pill for Senate Democrats to swallow, but they still ultimately opted to vote for it. This time around, they’re demanding more involvement in the process.
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Jeffries said that congressional Democrats would play ball if the process was «bipartisan and bicameral in nature» and put the onus of a partial government shutdown at the feet of congressional Republicans.
«House Republicans are, in fact, marching us toward a possible government shutdown that will hurt the American people,» he said.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., threw the responsibility on Democrats over whether the government would shutter or stay open come the end of September.
«They’re gaming out how they can shut the government down,» Johnson told Bloomberg Government.
INTERNACIONAL
Ucrania: el presidente Volodimir Zelenski enfrenta críticas y protestas por una nueva ley anticorrupción
Advertencia de funcionarios de la UE
El presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski, convocó a los jefes de todas las agencias de investigación y de lucha contra la corrupción del país. Foto EFENegociaciones en Estambul
Ucrania,Volodímir Zelenski,Rusia,Guerra Rusia-Ucrania
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Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Israeli and Qatari officials in Rome on Thursday as the U.S. pushes for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Hamas and Israel are engaging in indirect negotiations to end the war that has raged on for nearly two years. However, Witkoff’s itinerary depends on the progress made in the talks. If the parties make enough progress in Rome, Witkoff will reportedly travel to Doha to finalize the deal, according to Axios.
The outlet also reported that sources indicated the meeting in Rome could suggest that a deal is near — possibly just days away.
Earlier this month, Israel agreed to a U.S.-backed, 60-day ceasefire proposal that would lead to the end of the war. This deal includes a phased release of hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of Gaza and talks on ending the conflict, according to Reuters.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Israeli and Qatari officials in Rome on Thursday to secure a deal to end the war in Gaza. (Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu/Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
ISRAEL, HAMAS TALKS DRAG AS AID GROUP CHAIR TELLS UN TO STOP ACTING LIKE THE ‘MAFIA’
«My representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the war. The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this deal because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,» President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 1.
President Donald Trump holds a bilateral dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in attendance, at the White House in Washington, D.C., July 7, 2025. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
ISRAEL ACCEPTS TRUMP-LED CEASEFIRE PLAN THAT COULD END GAZA WAR WITHIN 60 DAYS
Trump appeared optimistic about the possibility of Israel and Hamas reaching a deal to end the war. On July 16, while signing the HALT Fentanyl Act, Trump thanked Witkoff, praising him for doing «a fantastic job» and said that there was «some good news on Gaza,» though he did not elaborate.
From left to right, Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump and Foreign Affairs Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 15, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
TRUMP PRESSURES ISRAEL TO END GAZA CONFLICT AS HE EYES ABRAHAM ACCORDS EXPANSION
If Trump can secure an end to the war, it could mean an expansion of the Abraham Accords, one of the signature efforts of Trump’s first administration, which saw Israel sign normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. However, Trump has yet to detail which countries would be added.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said on June 30 that Israel was «serious» about seeking an end to the conflict. He added that Jerusalem has an interest in «countries, such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization.»
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Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
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