Europeans for Jerusalem foundation has strongly denounced the Israeli occupation police for assaulting Palestinian Christians as they tried to attend Saturday’s Holy Fire and Easter ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem.
In a statement Europeans for Jerusalem said that Israeli police forces physically attacked many Christian worshipers on Saturday morning while they were trying to reach the Church of the Holy Sepulcher injuring a number of them.
The foundation explained that the Israeli police had turned since early Saturday morning Jerusalem and its Old City into a closed military zone prevented Christians from reaching the Church to attend the Holy Fire and Easter celebrations and assaulted them.
The foundation also said that the Israeli police already demanded Christians to obtain special permits if they wanted to enter the Church for Saturday’s prayers and celebrations.
The Israeli police also announced on Thursday its decision to limit the number of Christians allowed to reach the Church to 1800 people but they only allowed in 1600 worshipers from different sects mostly pilgrims who came from abroad and outside Jerusalem the foundation added.
It affirmed that such Israeli restrictions on Christians’ access to their holy sites constitute violations against freedom of worship and are considered part of the violations that Muslims face while trying to reach the Aqsa Mosque.
It also described the Israeli violations against Christians and Muslims as a “stark example of the apartheid regime that is run by the Israeli occupation state.”
“While Israel provides Jews with all the protection and services they need to perform their prayers and rituals including in places sacred to Muslims it commits violations against and puts obstacles in the way of Muslims and Christian who want to perform their rituals in the holy city as part of its attempts to change its identity and Judaize it” Europeans for Jerusalem underlined.
