Gaza – West Bank: In the midst of bombing Easter celebration in Gaza and West Bank
The Christians in Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank are risking to participate in Easter rituals.
On Great Saturday Israeli forces prevented the faithful in the old city of occupied Jerusalem from reaching the churches as they turned the city into a military zone, setting up checkpoints throughout the area and the alleys leading to the Holy Sepulcher.
According to Palestinian Wafa, Israeli forces prevented the faithful accession – including the Vatican representative in Palestine, Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana – holding them at the checkpoints.
A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT:
The Occupation Prevents the Apostolic Nuncio (Vatican Ambassador) to the State of Palestine from Entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to Observe Holy Saturday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Calls on the International Community and… pic.twitter.com/jnttbs2sxh
– State of Palestine – MFA (@pmofa) April 20, 2025
Journalist and activist Rafi Ghattas, based in Jerusalem, posted a video of the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, noting that the Israeli police forces were more than the faithful.
This Easter, Palestinian Christians are Once Again Met with Systematic Repression, Force, Apartheid, and Restrictions, Instead of Peace & ReveENCE.
In occuupied #Jerusalemwhere it all began, faith is not protected – it is targeted.
The World Cannot Stay Idle.
rafi ghattas pic.twitter.com/ejm7dirw6l
– Government Communication Center (@pal_GCC_en) April 19, 2025
Attacks
He also said that the strict restrictions left the church and the square surrounding it largely, a strong contrast to the large crowds that flock during this annual event. Ghattas also said that the Israeli forces attacked faithful in the church.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Considers The Occupation’s Practices against Christians to Be Racist and Discriminatory, Falling Within The Broader Context of Targeting Jerusalem and Its Christian and Islamic Holy Sites, and Constitute A BLATANTANT Violation of The freedom of… pic.twitter.com/rudqhmgri
– State of Palestine – MFA (@pmofa) April 20, 2025
The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry called on the international community to break its silence and take initiatives to protect Jerusalem and its sacred sites after Israel’s attacks.
« The attacks and collective punishments of the Occupation during the Holy Easter are events of genocide, displacement and attachment, » the ministry told X.
Easter in Gaza
In Gaza, Archbishop Alexios danced in the operation of the Resurrection in Gaza in the church of St. Porphyrius in the presence of believers who were in the event in the presence of bombings to celebrate Easter.
It is the same church that was targeted by Israeli attacks in October 2023, with a building affecting a building near the monastery who had found refuge and 18 people.
At least 44 people have been killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours.
« Our whole people are led to slaughter »
Speaking to Al Jazeeera, Yir Raheb, Palestinian Pastor and Theologian, founder and president of Dar al -Kalima University in Bethlehem, said that the Israeli restrictions of Easter to Christian Palestinians were the stricter.
« I myself, as a pastor, do not have permission to go to the Holy Week in the Holy Sepulcher. The Palestinian-Christian community, which has been on the spot for 2,000 years, cannot go there to celebrate and honor this point where everything happened. «
On the other hand, Racheb said, incitement to Palestinian Christians, especially members of the clergy, has increased, with Israeli settlers attacking Christians and spitting the clergy even in Jerusalem. Only this year, 43 such incidents took place, the pastor said.
« One of the first things you read in the Church about Jesus is that it was like a lamb that led to the slaughter. But when we hear this today as Palestinian Christians, you think it is our whole people who are led to slaughter, if we think about what is happening in Gaza. «
