Jerusalem Christians protest Israeli restrictions

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) – Christians in Jerusalem have protested Israeli restrictions on the celebrations of the Holy Fire Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in East Jerusalem.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Armenian Patriarchate also protested a decision by Israeli police to limit the number of participants in the April 16 celebrations to only 1,000 people.

The Holy Fire Saturday celebrations are among the major events that take place in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – one of the most sacred religious sites for Christians around the world – and are often attended by Western diplomats.

Islamic and Christian religious authorities in Jerusalem have repeatedly complained that Israel no longer respects religious holy sites.

In a statement, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate condemned the Israeli police’s unilateral measures to limit participants allowed to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for Holy Fire Saturday celebrations, describing the decision as “unjustified”.

"There is no justification for these additional unjust restrictions, and we affirm our explicit, clear and complete rejection of all restrictions,” it said.

“We are fed up with police restrictions on the freedom to practice worship, and their unacceptable methods of dealing with the natural rights of Christians to practice rituals, and access to holy sites in the Old City in Jerusalem," the statement added.

For its part, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said Israeli police decided to allow only 200 Armenians into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher this year out of the 1,000 allowed to participate in the celebrations.

“The Israeli authorities must ensure freedom of worship for Christians through unlimited access to holy sites,” the statement said.

On the other hand, the European Union Delegation to the Palestinians called on Israeli authorities to “ensure the freedom of worship of Christians through unlimited access to holy sites.”

It also noted that it was briefed about Israeli settlers threatening Christians in Mount Zion with evictions.

We “visited the Old City’s Christian Quarter with the Office of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and were briefed about Christian properties at Jaffa Gate at risk of eviction due to pressure by settler orgs’ & harassment of Christians by settlers in Mount Zion.”

The delegation called for the eviction orders to “be halted as they jeopardize Christian community heritage and pose a threat to peaceful coexistence of all three Abrahamic religions in Jerusalem.”

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara