JERUSALEM, Wednesday, May 8, 2024 (WAFA) – The Islamic-Christian Commission in Defence of Jerusalem and Holy Sites today condemned the violent crackdown by Israeli occupation authorities on Christian worshippers in Jerusalem.

The Committee decried in a press statement the violent assaults by Israeli police against Christian worshipers attempting to make their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the Saturday of the Holy Fire.

It noted that the heavily armed police sealed off most of the roads and alleyways leading to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem and prevented thousands of foreign pilgrims and Palestinian Christians from the West Bank from reaching Jerusalem to participate in Pascha celebrations.

It slammed this police crackdown on worshipers marks an escalation which forms a part of the Israeli scheme to undermine the presence of Christians, who form an integral part of the indigenous demographic composition and historical and cultural heritage of the city.

It called on the international community and the World Council of Churches to condemn the incessant attacks and assume their responsibilities in terms of defending freedom of worship and confront the Israeli scheme to undermine Christian presence in the city.

K.F.