Prosecutors in France announced Wednesday that an Algerian national was charged with committing an arson attack at a Jewish house of worship in La Grande-Motte last weekend.
Officials allege that the 33-year-old legal resident, who was arrested after a shootout with the police, admitted to executing the crime in protest of Israel’s current military operations in Gaza.
The Saturday incident was discovered when firefighters responding to a report of two private vehicles on fire noticed additional combustion at the two entrances of the nearby Beth Yaacov synagogue.
Although the five congregants who were in the building at the time of the altercation were unharmed, a local law enforcement officer was reported to have been injured when a propane tank placed near the flames exploded.
Two associates of the accused have been given lesser offenses for assisting the suspect in committing the dangerous act.
Related Story: Suspect Arrested in Arson Attack Against French Synagogue After Shootout with Police
