BPNIC Denounce and Condemn Israeli Measures on Holy Saturday
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| The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the
Old City of Jerusalem |
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BPNIC Briefing, May 2008
During the Orthodox Easter celebrations, Palestinian
Christians were denied their right to worship freely in
Jerusalem; they were not allowed to arrive to the Orthodox
Patriarchate where celebrations normally take place, and
they were not allowed to reach the St. Jacob Cathedral near
the Christian Quarter of the Old City. The Israeli police
had set up barricades at the Gates of the Old City, and when
Christian worshipers arrived the Israeli police started
shouting at them and pushing them, and there was an incident
when the police threw tear gas and beat the Christian
worshipers with clubs.
These measures taken by Israel during the Orthodox Easter
celebrations in the Old City of Jerusalem, are in violation
of the Status Quo law that has existed for hundreds of
years. These Israeli measures are also a violation of the
basic human rights for freedom of worship.
BPNIC along with the Presidential Committee for Christian
Affairs, the Arab Orthodox Institutes in East Jerusalem
including the Arab Greek Orthodox Club, the Laity Committee
in the Holy Land in East Jerusalem, the Greek Orthodox
Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Palestine National
Christian Assembly calls upon diplomatic missions, Christian
organizations and human rights institutions to intervene and
put an end to the Israeli human rights violations in the
Holy Land. To convey a message to the Israeli authorities
that such measures are unacceptable, and freedom of worship
must be guaranteed to all and that the Status Quo must be
respected.
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