Christian Monastery in al-Quds Vandalized by ’Israeli’ Extremists

Local Editor

A Christian monastery in al-Quds [Jerusalem] had been vandalized after extremist graffiti was daubed on its walls. Messages such as "Christians Go to Hell" were written, while the "Israeli" regime said it had ordered an immediate police investigation into the crimes committed.

The messages written in Hebrew on the walls and doors of the monastery included  "death to the heretic Christians, enemies of "Israel"."

"Idols will be extirpated," a line lifted from the Jewish prayer service, and "Christians Go to Hell" were among the graffiti written with felt-tip pens, Reuters reports. It is believed that the vandalism was carried out by a number of people, due to the different handwriting, which was visible.

The Dormition Abbey outside of al-Quds' Old City walls was affected by the vandals.

The vandalism brought a stinging response from the "Israeli" Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who said that extra police efforts would be put into making sure those responsible were caught for "this despicable act."

"We will not let anyone undermine religious coexistence in "Israel"," he added, as cited by Reuters.

Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List, the alliance of Palestinian parties in the "Israeli" parliament, said that the vandalism amounted to a hate crime, while also saying that the government was partly responsible for ignoring extremism against Arabs.

"Harassment and harming of places that are holy to Islam and Christianity have become almost constant and no one is held accountable," Odeh said, according to the Jerusalem Post.

"In al-Quds [Jerusalem] members of the clergy have been harassed for years but lately this phenomenon has become worse, more common, and more violent," he added.

Last month, vandals toppled dozens of crosses at a Catholic cemetery, belonging to the Salesian monastery of Beit Jamal, located in the town of Beit Shamesh, about 30 kilometers west of Jerusalem, according to the local Latin Patriarchate.

"Salesian fathers responsible for the monastery in Beit Jamal reported that unknown persons desecrated their monastery's cemetery," The Times of "Israel" quoted the patriarchate as saying Saturday.

In April 2014, vandals scrawled hate graffiti on the Deir Rafat Catholic monastery in response to so-called peace talks between the "Israeli" entity and Palestine, while disparaging graffiti referring to Jesus and Mary was also daubed on the walls.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team