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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The Trump administration is seeking $1 billion from UCLA to settle discrimination and antisemitism allegations in exchange for restoring more than half a billion dollars in frozen grant funding to the university.
The proposed agreement sent to the school Friday requires UCLA to pay the federal government $1 billion over multiple installments, along with establishing a $172 million claims fund for alleged victims of violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
The Trump administration has already suspended $584 million in federal grants from UCLA after the Justice Department announced it found the school violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
TRUMP CONGRATULATES IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL AFTER $50M DEAL TO RESTORE FEDERAL FUNDING: ‘WOKE IS OFFICIALLY DEAD’
The Trump administration is seeking $1 billion from UCLA to settle a lawsuit. (AP; Getty Images)
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, UC President James Milliken said the university system had received the document with the offer and was reviewing it.
«Earlier this week, we offered to engage in good-faith dialogue with the (Justice) Department to protect the university and its critical research mission,» Milliken said. «As a public university, we are stewards of taxpayer resources, and a payment of this scale would completely devastate our country’s greatest public university system as well as inflict great harm on our students and all Californians.
«Americans across this great nation rely on the vital work of UCLA and the UC system for technologies and medical therapies that save lives, grow the U.S. economy and protect our national security.»
«Demanding $1 billion from a publicly-funded, leading research institution is a misuse of tax dollars that will hurt the University’s mission of serving students and the public,» he said in a statement. «UCLA, and the larger UC system, has taken meaningful steps to make it clear that combatting antisemitism and protecting Jewish students, faculty, and community members on campus is a top priority.»
«They have been committed to increasing security, strengthening policies against hate, and engaging directly with Jewish voices to better inform their approach,» he added. «If the Administration’s mission is truly to protect the Jewish community, they would be supporting that work – not hamstringing it with these outlandish demands that would only take away needed resources and services for students and faculty.»
UCLA PAYS BIG SETTLEMENT OVER ‘JEW EXCLUSION ZONE’ DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS FROM STUDENTS
California state Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat whose district encompasses UCLA, said the Trump administration’s demand is «harming the engines of American power, innovation, and, indeed, greatness.»
The move came a day after California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized settlements between Columbia and Brown universities, both Ivy League schools, and the Trump administration.
«We’re not Brown, we’re not Columbia, and I’m not going to be governor if we act like that,» Newsom said while speaking in San Francisco. «Period. Full stop, I will fight like hell to make sure that doesn’t happen.»
Columbia will pay more than $220 million to resolve multiple federal civil rights investigations, including $21 million to settle claims of antisemitic employment discrimination against Jewish faculty after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel.
Brown will shell out $50 million over a decade to state workforce development organizations as part of a deal struck with the U.S. government.
In July, UCLA agreed to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Jewish students and faculty members over the school’s handling of anti-Israel protests, including allowing protesters to ban Jews from a part of the campus known as a «Jew Exclusion Zone.»
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The lawsuit was brought last year by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which accused UCLA of «aiding and abetting» an antisemitic culture, including «segregating Jewish students and preventing them from accessing the heart of campus.»
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El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, anunció que su esperada reunión con el mandatario ruso Vladimir Putin se realizará el próximo viernes 15 de agosto en Alaska, un estado en el noroeste estadounidense.
“La tan esperada reunión entre mi persona, como Presidente de los Estados Unidos de América, y el Presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, tendrá lugar el próximo viernes 15 de agosto de 2025 en el Gran Estado de Alaska. Próximamente se ofrecerán más detalles”, publicó el mandatario norteamericano en sus redes sociales.
El asesor presidencial ruso Yuri Ushakov confirmó que Putin y Trump se reunirán en Alaska, según declaraciones a la agencia de noticias Sputnik. “Rusia y Estados Unidos son vecinos cercanos, por lo que es bastante lógico que la reunión se celebre en Alaska”, dijo, y añadió: “De cara al futuro, es natural esperar que la próxima reunión se celebre en territorio ruso. Ya se ha enviado la correspondiente invitación al presidente estadounidense”.
Por otra parte, Trump recalcó este viernes que el acuerdo de paz en Ucrania mediado por EEUU podría contemplar “intercambios de territorios” para “mejorar la situación de ambos países” implicados en el conflicto. “Hablamos de un territorio disputado durante tres años y medio, con la muerte de muchos rusos y ucranianos. (…) Es complicado. Habrá intercambios de territorios para beneficio de ambos”, señaló, y enfatizó que confía en la predisposición de Putin y del presidente ucraniano Volodimir Zelensky para alcanzar una solución negociada.
El jefe de Estado estadounidense agregó que las negociaciones para la cumbre en Alaska se han visto demoradas por requisitos de seguridad, aunque reiteró su intención de buscar un cese el fuego en Ucrania. “Europa quiere paz. Millones de personas han muerto”, aseguró frente a la prensa, tras presidir la firma de un acuerdo de paz entre los líderes de Armenia y Azerbaiyán en la Casa Blanca.
Además, transmitió que “ya se están acercando a un pacto de cese el fuego porque todas las partes quieren poner fin al conflicto”. También destacó el reciente envío de ayuda militar a Ucrania a través de la OTAN y señaló que “Zelensky necesita conseguir todo lo que necesita, porque tendrá que prepararse para ceder algo”.
En Moscú, el presidente Putin consultó este viernes con los líderes de China e India como parte de sus gestiones antes del encuentro con Trump, buscando apoyo internacional. Según el Kremlin, Putin informó al presidente chino, Xi Jinping, sobre los avances de su conversación con el enviado especial estadounidense, Steve Witkoff, quien visitó la capital rusa esta semana para preparar la cumbre. Xi se mostró favorable a una “solución a largo plazo” al conflicto y expresó satisfacción por el diálogo abierto entre Estados Unidos y Rusia sobre Ucrania.
Por su lado, el primer ministro indio, Narendra Modi, declaró tras hablar telefónicamente con Putin: “Tuve una buena y detallada conversación con mi amigo el presidente Putin. Le agradecí que compartiera los últimos acontecimientos sobre Ucrania”. Tanto China como India han promovido iniciativas de paz por su cuenta, aunque por el momento no han logrado avances sustanciales.
Respecto a la posible sede para las futuras conversaciones entre Rusia y Ucrania, Putin mencionó a los Emiratos Árabes Unidos como una opción, aunque no ha sido confirmada por Washington. Además, Trump ha sugerido que podría producirse un encuentro trilateral con Zelensky después de su reunión con Putin, aunque indicó que un cara a cara directo entre los mandatarios de Rusia y Ucrania no constituye un requisito indispensable.
En Ucrania, las hostilidades se extienden tras más de tres años de conflicto iniciado por la invasión rusa en febrero de 2022. Según fuentes oficiales, decenas de miles de personas han muerto y millones han sido desplazadas, principalmente en el este y sur del país. Las negociaciones previas entre Moscú y Kiev no han logrado un acuerdo duradero hasta la fecha.
El gobernador de la región de Donetsk, Vadym Filashkin, anunció este viernes la evacuación de familias con niños en 19 aldeas del este debido al avance de las tropas rusas, con cientos de personas afectadas en localidades situadas a menos de 30 kilómetros del frente.
La próxima cumbre de Alaska se convertirá en la primera reunión presencial entre un presidente estadounidense y uno ruso desde el encuentro entre Joe Biden y Putin en Ginebra en 2021. Distintos líderes internacionales, como el mandatario de Sudáfrica, Cyril Ramaphosa, también han intensificado contactos diplomáticos en la búsqueda de una salida negociada al conflicto.
Hasta el momento, el presidente Zelensky ha reiterado que Ucrania no cederá ningún territorio a Rusia, incluidas las zonas del este bajo ocupación militar desde el inicio de las hostilidades.
(Con información de AFP, EFE y EP)
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