Israel recently issued directives restricting the number of Palestinian Christian worshippers allowed in the Holy Sepulchre for Eastern Orthodox Easter celebrations. The orders drew the ire of the Palestinian Orthodox Christian lay community and church leaders.
This came in the wake of increasing Israeli restrictions on Palestinian Muslim and Christian worshippers in Jerusalem. Last year, too, Israeli forces attacked worshippers heading to celebrate Holy Saturday in Jerusalem, as they did last weekend during Orthodox Easter celebrations.
In the past decade, attacks by extremist Israeli Jews on Palestinian Christian churches in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem have multiplied. Church leaders, from the largest Orthodox community to the smallest Anglican one, have complained about a concerted effort to drive out Palestinian Christians and the Christian presence more generally.
If Israel’s attempts to take over Muslim holy places in Jerusalem are two-pronged – through Israel’s “archaeological” digs that
— source middleeasteye.net | Joseph Massad | 2 May 2022