Fire near St. George’s Church in Samaria was a brush fire, not arson—and Israeli civilians helped extinguish it. Anti-Israel social media activist misrepresented the facts and propagated lies to make Jewish “settlers” look bad. But then the truth came out.

A wave of disinformation has falsely accused Israeli Jews of setting fire to a historic church in the Christian Arab village of Taybeh (Taibeh), northeast of Ramallah in Judea and Samaria (West Bank). The truth, however, is markedly different: there was no attack on the church—only a minor brush fire nearby, and rather than igniting it, Jewish civilians tried to help put it out.

The fire broke out in a field adjacent to the Church of St. George and its cemetery, reportedly due to dry vegetation and summer heat, a common cause of such incidents during the season. Local residents and volunteers, including Jewish Israelis, helped contain the flames before they reached any structures. The church itself suffered no damage. The cemetery was also untouched.

Despite these facts, the incident was quickly misrepresented on social media platforms, where manipulated videos and unverified posts accused “settlers” of committing arson against a Christian holy site. The viral hashtag #TaybehChurchBurned began trending in multiple languages, fueled by activists aligned with anti-Israel agendas. In reality, not a single eyewitness account, video, or credible report has supported the arson claim.

Israeli fire authorities confirmed the blaze was a typical brush fire. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit also stated there was no record of a settler attack in the area. In fact, initial reports confirm that some of the individuals seen on video—portrayed misleadingly as “attackers”—were Jewish hikers who paused to assist in firefighting efforts. One Jewish youth was seen removing dry branches from the path of the fire.

The rapid spread of the false accusation alarmed Israeli officials, Christian leaders, and experts on digital disinformation.

“This is a textbook case of blood libel in the digital age,” said Arsen Ostrovsky, a human rights lawyer and CEO of the International Legal Forum. “Not only was there no church arson, but Israeli civilians tried to help. This is defamation masquerading as activism.”

This isn’t the first time Taybeh has been used as a pawn in narrative warfare. In 2005, actual sectarian violence took place there—Muslim residents from a neighboring village burned down Christian homes in what the Palestinian Authority called an “honor” attack. The PA did nothing to stop it, and no one was ever prosecuted. That real episode of intra-Palestinian violence was quickly buried by international media. Ironically, today’s fabricated narrative flips the truth on its head, assigning blame to Jews for a non-existent crime.

Christian leaders in Israel condemned the false narrative. Father Gabriel Naddaf, a prominent advocate for Christian integration into Israeli society, warned: “Spreading lies about Jewish attacks on churches only endangers Christians more. Christians are safe in Israel. These fabrications help no one and hurt everyone.”

The fire near St. George’s Church was extinguished without injury or structural damage. The church remains fully intact, and Sunday services proceeded as scheduled. Yet in the world of online disinformation, truth often plays catch-up to lies.

By weaponizing religion and distorting reality, anti-Israel agitators seek to fracture the fragile bonds between Christians and Jews in the Holy Land. But in Taybeh, that bond held firm—fueled not by flames of hatred, but by a shared effort to put the fire out.