It was a painful Easter for West Bank’s Palestinian Christians

Every Easter, Obai Aboudi, who heads the Bisan Center for Research and Development in Ramallah, explains to his children why he cannot join them in occupied Jerusalem. The Aboudi family is one of thousands of Palestinian Christian families attempting to celebrate the Easter holidays, but under an Israeli occupation, this is becoming nearly impossible. 

This year, like every year before, Israel transformed the streets leading to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem into what is akin to military barracks, erected checkpoints and restricting the large number of Palestinian Christians, with Israeli soldiers assaulting and humiliating those waiting in line.

This is repeated every holiday, whether for Palestinian Christians or Muslims under an Israeli occupation, reinforcing the Palestinians’ conviction that Israel is pursuing religious discrimination within its grander goal of ethnic cleansing.

Entry, denied

Since 2004, Israel has barred Abboudi from entering Jerusalem because he holds a Palestinian ID, a green card issued by the Palestinian Authority (PA), while his wife and children hold Israeli ID, a blue card issued by Israeli authorities.

This has prevented him from accessing the city for years, along with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have also been denied entry by Israel.

Aboudi argues to The New Arab that Israel doesn’t accommodate any Palestinian, whatever their religious background. In that regard, he notes, Christians are part of the Palestinian social fabric and have historically suffered from Israel’s policies of ethnic cleansing.

Since 1948, Christians in historical Palestine decreased from more than 20 percent of the population to about 0.5 percent, and attacks by Israeli forces have persisted until today. 

“The displacement of dozens of villages inhabited by Christians in 1948, the targeting of St. Porphyrius Church, the third-oldest church in the world, during the war on Gaza, and the prevention of Easter celebrations by Christians, including the Pope’s representative, are all part of Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing and the establishment of a Jewish state that doesn’t accommodate any other component,” Aboudi added.

He further argued the current Israeli government “sees itself as superior and better than the rest of humanity”, while any alliance it forms with Christian Zionism or with Western countries within the framework of an interest or vision to impose political Zionism.

“Any regime must guarantee freedom of worship, and Jerusalem is recognised under international law as occupied territory and part of the natural unity with the West Bank and Gaza. But in light of the war of extermination, this matter becomes less relevant because Israel has committed the ultimate crime, and any other crime is no longer surprising,” Aboudi concluded.

Israeli violations on Palestinian Christians

The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine strongly condemned, in a statement issued on Saturday, the actions and violations committed by the Israeli occupation authorities against Palestinian Christians and pilgrims participating in Holy Saturday in Jerusalem.

These violations included preventing large numbers of believers from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to perform their religious rituals, and imposing severe restrictions on movement in the Old City of Jerusalem due to military checkpoints and roadblocks.

The statement added that Israel prevented the Apostolic Nuncio and Ambassador of the Holy See (Vatican Ambassador) to the State of Palestine, Archbishop Adolfo Tito Ilana, and a number of bishops from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in an “unprecedented move that violates diplomatic norms and international conventions”.

Holy Saturday is one of the most important Christian religious occasions, as it annually witnesses a large influx of believers and pilgrims from within and outside Palestine to participate in these sacred rituals. However, the Israeli authorities have basically occupied the city, preventing residents and visitors from exercising their natural and religious right to access places of worship.

Moreover, churches in Palestine have cancelled all Easter celebrations and scouting parades this year due to the ongoing Israeli war of extermination on Gaza. The holiday has been limited to masses, prayers, and religious rites.

Father Elias Awad, the spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Churches in Ramallah, told TNA that members of the Christian community were surprised on Holy Saturday by several roadblocks in the streets of Jerusalem, preventing many from heading to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and clergy were unable to march there.

“Twenty years ago, Jerusalem was open to everyone, and hundreds of tourists were there, and they were able to enter the church freely, unlike what we have seen for years, with iron barriers in the streets, which stopped a large number of clergy for hours and prevented them from entering the church,” he added.