JENIN: Palestinians attacked more churches in the occupied West Bank yesterday in reaction to parts of a speech made by Pope Benedict that referred to Islam, witnesses said.

The two attacks, following similar incidents on Friday and Saturday, caused minor damage but no injuries.

In the town of Tubas, outside Jenin, a group of Palestinians set fire to a Roman Catholic church, causing minor damage before the flames were put out. One individual was arrested, Palestinian security forces said.

A Roman Catholic church in the town of Tulkarem also sustained damage in a blaze. Witnesses said they saw a man set the fire in the early morning.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

"(The attacks) are totally rejected. Every Palestinian must stop any harm to the churches of Christians on the Palestinian land," Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas said yesterday in response to the series of church attacks.

Palestinian security forces were deployed to churches in the West Bank to prevent further violence, witnesses said.

Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, visited Nablus yesterday after five churches in the West Bank city were attacked over the weekend.

"The Palestinian Authority and the Islamic authorities are co-operating with us so we are not facing these provocations alone. The attacks will not affect the solid relations among Muslim and Christian Palestinians," said Sabah, a Palestinian.

In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, many Catholics criticised the Pope for his comments.

Like each week, the faithful gathered in strong numbers for morning mass at the Latin church of Saint Catherine, near the Nativity Church where Christians believe Jesus was born.

But yesterday, Father Amjad Sabbara, a Franciscan, decided to devote his sermon to the statements by the Pope which triggered a wave of protests in the Muslim world. - Reuters