Fire at the Alliance Church in Jerusalem

The World Council of Churches strongly denounces the burning of the Alliance Church built in Jerusalem in 1897, which once hosted the Palestinian Bible College. This attack has caused considerable damage to significant parts of the building.

The WCC rejects all forms of extremism, including religious ones. We have in this incident another example that shows that as long as there is no just peace in Palestine and Israel, some groups will take advantage to transform the political conflict into a religious war. We hope that the burning of the church will be investigated by competent authorities and the perpetrators of the crime be brought to account. 

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
General secretary
World Council of Churches