On Thursday, an illegal Israeli colonizer invaded a church in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem and caused damage to it before trying to burn it.
Yousef Daher, the head of the Jerusalem Center For Church Affairs, said the colonizer tried to burn the “Prison of Christ Church” in front of the Al-Omariyya School after causing damage to its interior, including icons and the statue of Jesus Christ.
The Israeli Police claimed that attack was carried out by a “mentally unstable foreign tourist,” which is an allegation frequently used by Israel to justify similar crimes, including when an Australian Jewish man, Denis Michael Rohan, burnt the Al-Aqsa Mosque on August 21, 1969, and was deported back to Australia.
Archbishop Atallah Hanna of Sebastia from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem denounced the attack and said that the colonizer caused damage to the church and tried to burn it before a Palestinian from Jerusalem, Majed Al-Resheq, rushed to extinguish the fire and captured the assailant.
Father Hanna saluted Majed for his courage and saving the church from the vicious attack by three illegal Israeli colonizers.
The Archbishop said the attack on the church is not the first against Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Palestine, especially in occupied Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates issued a statement denouncing the attack and described it as part of ongoing serious Israeli violations and crimes against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine and the Palestinian people.
|Israeli extremists burn the church where Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes|
The Ministry said the fanatic colonizers are trying to remove the Palestinian Muslims and Christians from their homeland, especially the occupied capital Jerusalem, and called on the international community to intervene and provide the needed protection to the Palestinian people.
It is worth mentioning that a few days ago, Israeli fanatics attacked the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem, occupied its rooftops before removing the Armenian flag, and wrote racist graffiti, including “Death to the Arbs and Gentiles,” “Death to Christians,” and “Death to the Armenians.”
