Ramallah: Israel occupation forces have denied Christians of the occupied East Jerusalem access to their churches as part of preparations for the mid-month marking of the Jewish Passover.
In retaliation, Christians, ahead of Easter celebrations, have decided to stop coordinating with Israeli forces.
Since 2005, at this time of the year, Israeli occupation forces, mainly the police, seal the old town of occupied Jerusalem and restrict the movement of worshipers.
Roadblocks are set up and hundreds of policemen are deployed ahead of Passover and the occupied East Jerusalem will be virtually under curfew.
In recent years, Israeli forces have prevented Christians from going to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Church of Resurrection, the Way of Sorrows and other Christian sites in the holy city.
A meeting of Christian institutions and community leaders in the occupied East Jerusalem condemned and termed the Israeli measures as racist actions against both Christian and Muslim residents of the holy city.
A statement said that the Israeli measures constitute a basic violation of freedom of worship.
“Israel tries to create new realities in the city and these completely contradict what has been implemented and adhered to in terms of customs and traditions for centuries in the holy city,” it said.
“Palestinian Christians have been denied the right to perform their rituals and religious duties or to even gather with families and friends to mark Easter. Those Israeli measures do not have anything to do security or the safety of worshipers but has basically to do with racism,” said the statement.
In rejecting coordination with the Israelis, the statement claimed that, “Coordination would demonstrate Christian approval of the Israeli measures which deny human beings their basic worship rights. The Israeli measures are direct violations of international legitimacy, international law and human rights,” said the statement.
The Christian communities emphasised that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Way of Sorrows are solely of Palestinian heritage and that none of the various occupiers over hundreds of years had dared to restrict worship in them or to put in place conditions controlling access to them for worship.
The statement said, “The Israeli policies which prevent worshipers, including Christians and Muslims, from reaching their holy places aim at emptying the holy city of its original residents.”
“Installing roadblocks and giving the Israeli forces strict instructions to handle the worshipers violently is an extremely dangerous policy that is categorically rejected and condemned with the strongest terms,” maintained the statement.
The Christian communities vowed to reach their Church of the Holy Sepulchre to mark their festival and perform their rituals despite all the Israeli challenges and security measures.
