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The 17th century Etz-Hayyim synagogue in Hania, Crete.
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HANIA (AFP)---The authorities on the Greek island of Crete have arrested two Britons and a Greek after arson attacks on a synagogue, police said Friday.
The 24-year-old Greek confessed, while the Britons, aged 23 and 33, denied any involvement, according to Costas Liotsakis, the island's deputy police chief.
The attacks on January 5 and 16 seriously damaged the Etz-Hayyim synagogue in the town of Hania, northwest of Crete.
The Britons have been living in Crete for three months and all three suspects work as touts for tourist spots in the town.
They were due to appear before prosecutors on the island later on Friday.
The Greek suspect said the 33-year-old Briton, from the northwestern city of Manchester, had started the fire on January 16, Liotsakis said.
He also accused two Americans, saying one of them led the January 5 attack, the officer added.
Police are now looking for the two Americans, though they do not have details of their identity.
A police source said the group was motivated by "hostility towards Jews".
The three arrested are suspected of entering the Etz-Hayyim synagogue via an adjacent building and starting fires, destroying archives and equipment including computers and CDs.
The director of the synagogue, Nikos Hanaan Stavroulakis, said 2,500 rare books were destroyed and called on the authorities to take action against the "anti-Semitic and racist" attacks.
Greek Justice Minister Haris Kastanidis publicly condemned the attacks and a human rights group called them the worst anti-Semitic incidents in Greece in recent years.
"We are worried about the security of the Jewish community and the violation of freedom of religion,” said Moses Constantinis, President of the Central Board.
Around 4,500 Jews live in Greece.
The Board called on the Greek government to take effective measures for the protection of the synagogue.