Christians celebrate Good Friday in Jerusalem's Holy Sepulcher church

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Christians in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday marked Good Friday rites in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher ahead of celebrating Holy Saturday (also known as Holy Fire) amid expected Israeli restrictions.

Hundreds of Christians, including Palestinians and foreign visitors, made their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher through the processional route the Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem.

At the church, Christians held prayers and rituals in commemoration of Good Friday.

Meanwhile, thousands of Christians, according to the Orthodox Easter calendar, are expected to mark Holy Saturday in the church on Saturday.

Churches in Jerusalem have recently protested measures and restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on participants in the Holy Saturday ceremony.

In a joint statement, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Armenian Patriarchate, and Custody of the Holy Land slammed Israeli restrictions on the Holy Saturday ceremony which restrict and limit participation to less than 2,000 while the usual participation tops 10,000.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) also expressed "serious concern" about the impact of the restrictions on freedom of religion.

"This Easter ceremony is one of the most important for the Orthodox and other Eastern churches, for the wider Christian community in the Holy Land, and for pilgrims attending from all over the world," read the WCC press release, citing its General Secretary Rev. Jerry Pillay.

Tensions escalated across Palestinian territories earlier this month after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem and forcibly removed worshippers there.

The Israeli raids on the mosque triggered rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, with Israel retaliating with airstrikes.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar