Tunisia: Police investigate synagogue fire
A man is in custody in Sfax, Tunisia as police investigate an arson attack on a local synagogue, according to AP on March 2nd.
The public prosecutor in the eastern city, Hichem Ben Ayad, told AP that an investigation is open after the garden of the city’s synagogue was set on fire on February 25th.
Ben Ayad said that suspect, a man in his late 40s who has worked in the public sector, is being questioned to establish if the fire in the Jewish house of worship was pre-meditated.
The prosecutor claimed there was no significant damage done to the building, and that there were no casualties due to the synagogue being empty when the fire occurred.
On May 9th, 2023, four people were killed in a shooting attack on the historic Ghriba synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia, amid an annual Jewish pilgrimage to the island. According to Reuters, the attack was carried out by a guard at a naval base on Djerba, who shot a colleague and seized his ammunition before heading to the synagogue.
READ: Two killed in Tunisia synagogue shooting by naval officer
Tunisian officials said the Djerba assailant intentionally targeted the ancient synagogue, in a pre-meditated attack.
AP / Reuters
