Israeli police arrest two suspects in Protestant cemetery vandalism

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows vandalized tombstones at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery where acts of vandalism took place in Jerusalem January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo

Israeli police said on Friday they arrested two people suspected of vandalising a Protestant cemetery in Jerusalem earlier this week.

Police said in a statement that extensive damage had been caused to gravestones at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery, calling it an "act of intentional vandalism and defacement."

Two people aged 14 and 18 have been arrested and will be brought to court, according to the statement. It did not identify the suspects, saying only they were residents of central Israel.

FILE PHOTO: Archbishop Hosam Naoum inspects a vandalized tombstone at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery in Jerusalem January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

The commander of the Jerusalem Police District, Superintendent Doron Turgeman, met with church leaders and offered to help repair the damage.

Jerusalem has sites sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

"Any damage to religious institutions and sites is serious and damages the unique and sensitive quality of life that exists in the city, inclusive to all religions and tradition," said Turgeman.

FILE PHOTO: Archbishop Hosam Naoum inspects a vandalized tombstone at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery in Jerusalem January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)