The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) imposed restrictions on the Palestinian Christian worshippers preventing them from reaching the Church of Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem to participate in the Holy Saturday.
The IOA closed the New Gate a gate in Jerusalem that leads to the church leaving only Bab al-Amud and Bab al-Khalil open in addition to setting up dozens of makeshift checkpoints in the Christian Quarter. Furthermore Israeli policemen assaulted the Christian Palestinian worshippers.
The IOA had decided to curb the number of Christian worshippers who can celebrate the Holy Saturday to only 1000.
For their part the Arab Orthodox institutions and Jerusalem figures submitted a petition to the Supreme Court of Israel against the Israeli decision to curb the number of Christians wishing to celebrate Holy Saturday at the Church of Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
The court approved the petition on Wednesday evening stating that the Israeli police shall not restrict Christian worshippers’ access to the church to celebrate the Holy Saturday or limit the number of participants.
Broad Denunciation
Palestinian resistance factions condemned the Israeli attacks on the Church of Sepulcher terming the interference of the IOA in the religious affairs of Palestinians as a racist practice that violates the freedom of worship.
The IOA’s decision to limit the number of Christians wishing to visit Jerusalem’s historic Church of the Holy Sepulcher which coincides with the continuous aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque and Muslim worshippers are both a flagrant violation of Palestinian rights according to the Hamas National Relations in the West Bank.
“Palestinian people whether Muslims or Christians are ready and willing to confront the Israeli attacks and protect their holy sites to celebrate their holy days freely” the Department added.
For his part the member of the Hamas’s political bureau Ezzat al-Resheq called on the international community to stop the policy of double standards and take serious action to prevent further Israeli violations and to expose their crimes against international law.
For its part the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) confirmed that the Israeli attacks on Palestinian worshippers not only violate the freedom of worship but expose Israel’s plans for Judaization of Jerusalem as well.
The factions hailed the Palestinian protests in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip beside the worshippers assembling in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of Sepulcher adding that the Palestinian people must regain their human rights including the freedom of worship.
