Update: Church in Israel badly damaged in suspected arson by Jewish zealots, PM orders probe

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ordered the Shin Bet internal security service to probe into an arson at a Catholic church in northern Israel, presumably by Jewish zealots.

An official statement quoted Netanyahu as branding the attack as "an attack on all of us."

He ordered Shin Bet Director Yoram Cohen to conduct "a full and speedy investigation" of the arson at the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee.

"Those responsible for this despicable crime will face the full force of the law," said Netanyahu.

Police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said the blaze broke out "in the early morning, firefighters arrived at the scene and put it out."

However, the fire destroyed bibles and prayer books and caused extensive damages to an office for pilgrims, a meeting room and a souvenir shop.

A Hebrew graffiti spray-painted on a wall of the church, leading police to suspect that the fire might have been caused deliberately by Jewish extremists, Rosenfeld said. The graffiti was taken from a passage in the Jewish prayer book, calling to destroy worshipers of idols.

Earlier, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin condemned the attack as a "henious crime."

"I was shocked and saddened to learn this morning of the fire at the Church at Tabgha. Such terrible desecration of an ancient and holy place of prayer, is an attack on the very fabric of life in our country, where people of different faiths seek to live together in harmony and mutual tolerance and respect," said statement issued by the office of the president.

A police notice said 16 Jewish settlers were released a few hours after they were arrested in the vicinity of the church.

According to Rabbis for Human Rights, an Israeli rights watchdog, since 2009, there have been 43 hate crime attacks against holy sites, including cemeteries, mosques, churches and monasteries - in Israel, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The attacks were widely condemned across the political spectrum but suspects are seldom apprehended and tried. Enditem