Jerusalem/Gaza – Palestine’s Christians celebrated the Sabbath of Light on Saturday in occupied East Jerusalem, Gaza and other Palestinian cities amid strict restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities.
After the Holy Light flooded the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem, the flames were sent to the city of Ramallah and many other Palestinian cities, as well as several neighboring Arab countries and other European countries.
For the second year in a row, Israeli forces imposed strict restrictions on the celebration of the Sabbath of Light at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, tightening procedures and closures and preventing worshipers from reaching the church.
Videos showing Israeli soldiers beating young men, physically wrestling women and shoving clergymen on their way to church went viral on social media platforms.
In Jerusalem, William Khoury, former deputy head of the Palestinian Orthodox club and member of the Arab Orthodox Christian community, told Al Jazeera that what happened was “nothing new.”
“For more than 10 years, we have been suffering from the occupation authorities who put up metal barriers, police and armed soldiers on the day of the Holy Fire,” he said.
“This is the holiest day for Christians in this holy land. As Orthodox Christians and Arabs, we tell the world that this city is ours, this church is ours, and this sacred site is ours too. No one has the right to disrupt our celebrations on this day.
“We are Palestinians and we are proud of this identity,” Khoury said.
Fadi Halabi, a security analyst in Jerusalem, told Al Jazeera that dozens of checkpoints set up by Israeli forces prevented nearly 80 percent of Palestinian Christians from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
“Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian Christians are not new and are part of the unfortunate decisions of the country’s right-wing government,” Halabi said.
“They are part of the deliberate decades-long policy of obliterating other local communities in Jerusalem in an effort to show that Jerusalem is exclusive to a Jewish identity.”
Halabi said that in recent years, Israeli attacks on and vandalism of Christian sites and churches have increased “with little or no effort to apprehend the perpetrators who were clearly filmed on surveillance cameras.”
Christians once made up 20 percent of Jerusalem’s population—now they make up less than 2 percent.
Fewer Palestinians allowed from Gaza to Jerusalem
In Gaza, the Greek Orthodox community celebrated Holy Saturday at the Church of Saint Porphyry in the Zaitoon neighborhood of Gaza’s Old City. Dozens of families attended the ceremonies of the outpouring of Christ’s light according to the Bible. The celebrations began with a performance by the scouts and a welcome from the bishop.
Khader Nasrawi, 45, a freelance graphic designer and father of two, told Al Jazeera that he and his family love to celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Jesus.
“This occasion is not just a special occasion for Christians, but it shows the holiness of Palestine, Jerusalem and Jesus Christ,” Nasrawi told Al Jazeera.
Although Nasrawi and his family have a special affection for this holiday, he said their joy, as Christians living in Gaza, is incomplete.
“Every year we face difficulties in leaving the Gaza Strip and obtaining permits from the Israeli side to go to Bethlehem, the Church of the Nativity or the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem to attend the Holy Light ceremonies,” Nasrawi said. .
Israeli authorities this year increased their restrictions on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, limiting the number of persons who can attend the holy Sabbath to just 1,800 people, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Every year, Christians in Gaza fill out applications in the hope that authorities will allow them to attend the holy days in Jerusalem or Bethlehem. Normally only a few permits are issued, but this year Wafa said there were fewer than ever, leaving many Christians in Gaza heartbroken.
Nasrawi was given a permit to go to Jerusalem this Easter, but he did not go because his wife and children were denied permits.
“My wife hasn’t gotten a permit for three years and neither have my children; it’s not fun to go to the party without them,’ he said.
“Easter is an opportunity to emphasize the sacred message of Christ…a message of love and peace to the world. I wish the world that the coming days will be days of peace, goodness and love,” he added.
Fouad Ayad, 33, said this Easter is one of the worst for him as he very much hoped to get a permit to celebrate in Jerusalem.
“It is true that the situation in Jerusalem is tense and does not encourage me to go, but I am tired of being prevented from visiting for years for no reason, despite being of Jerusalemite descent,” said Ayad, who is a father of a one-year-old daughter and works at a school.
“I came here to celebrate Holy Saturday with the other Christian families in Gaza,” Ayad told Al Jazeera.
“It is well known that the Christian community is a minority in Gaza, and they have great difficulties moving and traveling through the Israeli border crossings,” he said, adding that he has been trying to obtain a permit for his Egyptian wife since their marriage. to get. three years ago, in vain.
“There are major complications at every step here, but we hope it gets easier and the next few years will be better,” he added.
His wife, 24-year-old Angie Ayad, for her part, told Al Jazeera that she finds the Easter atmosphere beautiful and spiritual in the churches of the Gaza Strip.
“Since I was in Egypt, I always wanted to visit Jerusalem with my family and attend Easter celebrations there, but this is all very difficult because of the Israeli complications and exceptional circumstances in the Palestinian area,” she said.
“Since I got married and moved to the Gaza Strip, I have been trying to apply for a visitor permit, but this too seems difficult.”
Despite this, Angie Ayad said she is enjoying life in Gaza, contrary to what she had expected and seen in the media. “Life here is beautiful and simple, the people are simple and I am happy to be here with my child and my husband.”
29-year-old Madonna Ayad, who is also an Egyptian, also sees life in Gaza as beautiful “except for the wars”.
The two friends got married and came to Gaza in 2020 and are still waiting for their official identity papers.
Madonna Ayad sees the festive atmosphere of Easter in Gaza as very close to the celebrations in Egypt.
“Usually Christians can go from Egypt to Jerusalem and Bethlehem to pray normally, but it is difficult to get a visitor permit from Gaza without family reunification and a host of conditions,” she said.
Madonna Ayad’s husband, 34-year-old Imad Ayad — who is related to Fouad — told Al Jazeera that the problem facing Christians in Gaza and the rest of the Palestinian territory is simply that they are “Palestinians.”
“What happened yesterday in Jerusalem was very sad. It is a blessed Eid for which people wait from year to year to be violently attacked by Israeli forces. It’s impossible”.
Elias al-Jilda, a member of the Board of Deputies of the Arab Orthodox Church in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that this year’s Easter celebrations are taking place against the backdrop of widespread harassment against Christians and Muslims in Jerusalem, including attacks on believers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
“There are also racist practices that we saw in the media of Israeli extremists spitting on Christian nuns in Jerusalem. This is proof of the fanaticism and extremism of the Israeli occupation, especially of the extremist Israeli government led by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.
“These restrictions are designed to empty Jerusalem of Christians and Muslims and push them to emigrate abroad, as is happening, and this is a direct form of religious persecution,” al-Jilda said.
Christians in Gaza, he said, suffer most from the persistent denial of permits to visit Jerusalem or Bethlehem, where the number of permits approved is always very low.
“This is a deliberate prohibition against exercising our natural right to practice our religious rituals, and this is against all international, legal and human laws,” al-Jilda noted.
“We send a message to the international community and advocates for peace and human rights that the persecution of the right to worship in Palestine against Muslims and Christians is unacceptable and urgent action is needed. Our people have the right to come out of the occupation and live in dignity and freedom.”