The Palestinian Foreign Ministry issued a statement strongly denouncing the Israeli military and police attacks against Palestinian Christians, diplomats, priests and visitors, celebrating the eastern Holy Fire Saturday, before Easter this past Saturday.The Ministry said that Israeli soldiers and policemen verbally and physically attacked dozens of worshipers and families, and prevented them from participating in the holy procession.
It said that Easter is a holy feast, also a national feast in Palestine, as the Palestinian Authority officially recognizes it, the same way it recognizes Christmas as a religious and a national feast.
The Ministry added that the Palestinians and every person around the world have the right to celebrate and pray, and added that Israel is depriving the Palestinians, Muslims and Christians, from their basic right to the Freedom of Worship, staring by their right to reach their holy sites.
It said that Israeli is ongoing with its illegitimate activities that are trying to change the demography of occupied Jerusalem, “by turning it into a sole Jewish city while depriving the native Muslims and Christians from their basic rights.”
Furthermore, the Ministry said that the Israeli violations against Christian and Islamic Holy Sites are also accompanied by its ongoing violations against the residents, including home demolitions, home takeovers, revoking ID cards of Jerusalemite Palestinians, in addition to ongoing attacks carried out by extremist Israeli settlers against the Palestinians, their property and lands, and both Islamic and Christian holy sites.
These attacks including defacing mosques and churches, and even escalated to setting some Churches and mosque on fire, by igniting fire in them or hurling Molotov Cocktails at them. The attacks also included racist graffiti describing both Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammad as pigs.
The Ministry called on the International Community, all legal and human rights groups, to intervene and oblige Israel to respect its obligations as an occupying power, and oblige it to respect all signed treaties, human rights accords, United Nations and Security Council resolutions.
