'Arson attack' damages Israel 'miracle' church

A suspected arson attack damaged a revered Christian shrine in northern Israel overnight, and police detained 16 young Jewish settlers for questioning yesterday.

The Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on the shores of the Sea of Galilee is where many Christians believe Jesus fed the 5,000 in the miracle of the five loaves and two fish.

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A church adviser blamed Jewish extremists for the incident and police later said they had detained 16 youths from settlements in the occupied West Bank for questioning.

A member of the Roman Catholic Benedictine order, which manages the site, said one of the buildings within the compound was completely destroyed in the blaze but the church itself was not damaged. Hebrew graffiti was found on another building within the complex, reading "Idols will be cast out" or destroyed.