JERUSALEM — Israeli Police has banned UN peace envoy from joining pre-Easter celebrations in Jerusalem, an incident that highlights the escalating restrictions on Christians’ access to the old city during the holy week.
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“It became really dangerous because there was a big crowd and I was pushed against a metal fence the police put up there, the crowd tried to push really hard,” United Nations peace envoy to the Middle East Robert Serry, told Reuters on Sunday, April 20.
The UN envoy and other diplomats were barred from entering the holy city to attend Holy Fire celebrations, showing the increasing limitations on Christians' access to key religious sites.
According to the UN envoy, a procession of Norwegian and Dutch diplomats has been waiting at the gates for up to half an hour, while being crushed by crowd against barricade.
“I don't understand why this happened,” Serry added. “I'm not saying I felt my life was in imminent danger, but this wasn't something you associate with a peaceful procession for Easter.”
Serry described the incident as an “unacceptable behavior” from the Israeli security authorities, calling on all parties to “respect the right of religious freedom”.
Israeli authorities swiftly denied Serry's accusations, claiming that he was attempting to exaggerate a “micro-incident”.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman also dismissed reports of violence against the Christian worshippers in the old city.
“If there was any pushing and shoving I would say it was a micro-incident,” Yigal Palmor, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, claimed.
Christians around the world celebrated on April 18, the Good Friday, a religious holiday observed by Christians in commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus and his death, an event central to Christian faith.
The celebration is followed by Easter on April 20 which is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year.
'Oppressed in Holy Week'
With Palestinian Christians complaining from Israeli restrictions for decades, this year’s celebrations did not bring any dream of celebrating freely in the holy lands.
Restricting Palestinians’ access to Jerusalem during Holy Week is “not fair, not just, not religious,” Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and head of the Catholic Church in Israel, Cyprus, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, told the Washington Post.
“It is very painful to see people coming from the whole world, from places [as far as] Japan, and they can easily reach the holy sites while our people and Christians from Iraq, Jordan and other [Arab] countries cannot.”
According to Tawil, very low numbers of Palestinians have attended the celebrations.
“There is no dignity in this,” said Firas Aridah, a parish priest at St. Joseph’s Church outside the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“I need a permit to enter into Israel, why? . . . This is my mother church, my state?
“I do not believe this is security,” Aridah added.
“The Israelis do not want to show how many Christians are living here and that they are powerful in the Old City.”
Unlike Christians around the world, Palestinian Christians have been denied the joys of Easter in Jerusalem.
“People are not coming to Jerusalem anymore” from the West Bank, Hind Khoury, a former minister of Jerusalem affairs for the Palestinian Authority, said.
“Who wants confrontations and tear gas? Easter is supposed to be a time of joy.”
These restrictions in the holy week have soared in the last five years, Palestinian asserted.
“Over the past five years or so, however, there has been systematic abuse [of our freedom of worship],” said Bassem Khoury, an Orthodox Christian, a pharmacist and former Palestinian economics minister.
Last year “there were more police than worshippers.”
“Some of the police were smoking in the Holy Sepulchre. They should be more respectful in that place,” he added. /SR
