US condemns recent vandalism at church, mosque near Bethlehem

US Consul General in Jerusalem Michael Ratney condemned on Friday recent arson and vandalism at church and mosque after his visit to both sites.
“Yesterday I visited the Greek Orthodox Seminary and today I visited a mosque in the Palestinian village of al-Jabaa near Bethlehem; both had been torched and vandalized earlier in the week in apparent ‘price tag’ attacks," read a press release by the US diplomat.
"Make no mistake, any attack against holy and religious sites is an attack on the very idea of Jerusalem and Bethlehem as sacred places shared among the three great Abrahamic faiths," he added.
"The United States strongly condemns these hate crimes and encourages local authorities to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice; and we stand with all those, including the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, in strongly condemning these crimes of hate."