CAIRO, April 8, 2012 (WAFA) – Two hundred Egyptian Christians Sunday flew to Israel to perform the Easter pilgrimage in East Jerusalem, reported the Cairo-based Middle East News Agency.

It said the Egyptian Christians heading to Jerusalem are Catholic and not part of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which bans pilgrimage to the occupied Jerusalem due to its occupation by Israel.

Egyptian Christian and Muslim high-profile religious figures, including the late Pope Shenouda III and the Islamic scholar and theologian Yusuf Qaradawi, previously issued rulings prohibiting non-Palestinians, whether Christians and Muslims, from visiting Jerusalem as long as it is occupied by Israel.

R.Q./F.R.