Al-Quds church urges mass participation in Easter despite Israeli curbs

A priest from the Greek Orthodox Church in the occupied East al-Quds has called on Christians to attend Easter celebrations in large numbers while denouncing the "heavy-handed" curbs imposed by the Israeli regime officials.

Father Mattheos Siopis in a statement on Wednesday announced that talks with the Israeli police over the attendance numbers at the Holy Fire ceremony on Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had failed.

“After many attempts made in goodwill, we are not able to coordinate with the Israeli authorities as they are enforcing unreasonable restrictions,” he said, as reported by AFP news agency.

He slammed the “heavy-handed” restrictions that will limit access to the church, noting that the ceremony has been “faithfully taking place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for nearly 2,000 years.”

The annual Holy Fire ceremony is the most important event in the Orthodox calendar. Some 10,000 worshippers used to fill the church and surrounding alleys but Israeli authorities have limited the number of attendants to 1,800 people since last year. They claim the restriction is a safety precaution.  

Scuffles broke out last year between worshippers and police officers who imposed restrictions throughout the occupied city’s Christian quarter.  

Urging “all who wish to worship with us to attend,” Siopis noted, “With that made clear, we leave the authorities to act as they will. The churches will freely worship and do so in peace.”

Churches committee slams Israel’s restrictions on Christians in al-Quds

The Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine has censured Israel’s restrictions on Christians during the Holy Fire celebrations.

The remarks come as tensions have been soaring in the al-Quds in recent weeks due to repeated assaults of Israeli forces on al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site for Muslims.

But Muslims are not the only group targeted in the occupied territories as there have been increased assaults by extremist settlers and Israeli forces against Christian priests and worshippers in recent years.

Since 2005, Christian celebrations around Holy Week, particularly Holy Fire Saturday, have brought military barricades and harsh treatment from soldiers and settlers alike.

Since the most right-wing Israeli cabinet came to power last year, incidents against Christians in al-Quds have reportedly become more violent and common. At the beginning of the year, 30 Christian graves at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery were desecrated.

In the Armenian Quarter, vandals spray-painted “Death to Arabs, Christians and Armenians,” on the walls.

Church leaders in al-Quds slam Israel for anti-Christian bias, failure to stop attacks on holy sites

Patriarchs and heads of churches in the occupied al-Quds say Israel is biased against Christians and indifferent to extremist groups’ attacks on Christian clergy and holy sites.

At the Church of the Flagellation, someone attacked a statue of Jesus with a hammer. Last month, an Israeli came to the Church of Gethsemane during Sunday religious services and tried to attack the priest with an iron bar. Being spat and shouted at by Israelis has become, for some Christians, “a daily occurrence.”

Victims of these incidents say the Israeli police do little to arrest and punish the attackers most of the time. Community leaders believe the police dismiss or minimize the religious motivations behind these attacks, typically claiming the perpetrators suffer from mental illness.

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