Palestine condemns Israeli police assault on Christians as ‘racist’ during Holy Saturday

Palestine condemned Israeli police assaults on Christians during the Holy Saturday celebrations as “racist” and “a blatant violation of the freedom of worship and access to holy sites.”

On Saturday, Israeli police clashed with Palestinian Christians during the Holy Saturday observances at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem.

“We decry the arbitrary actions, assaults, and restrictions imposed by Israeli soldiers and illegal settlers throughout the Easter holiday on Christians, preventing their participation in this global human celebration,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also denounced footage showing Israeli soldiers assaulting visitors to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

It rejected Israeli moves to prevent the Vatican’s ambassador from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and obstructing Palestinian Christians from the occupied West Bank from participating in the celebrations in occupied Jerusalem.

“The Israeli practices against Christians are racist and discriminatory, part of a broader agenda to target Jerusalem and its Christian and Islamic sanctities, and represent a blatant violation of the freedom of worship and access to holy sites amid an ongoing genocide and displacement crimes against our people.”

For the second year in a row, participation in Holy Saturday and Easter ceremonies has been visibly reduced amid relentless Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.

Tension has been high in the occupied West Bank, where at least 952 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 others injured since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, according to Palestinian figures.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.