‘They Are Trying to Make It Unbearable’: Al-Quds Christians Face Easter Under ‘Israeli’ Crackdown

By Staff, Agencies

Palestinians trying to access Christianity's holiest sites in the Old City of Al-Quds to attend the Easter procession, faced restrictions and hostility.

The ceremony on Holy Thursday, is one of many Easter rituals that have taken place in the Old City of Al-Quds for hundreds of years. resurrected, yet the crowd that assembled outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Thursday morning was small and muted, and one group of native worshippers was noticeably absent.

For generations, the tens of thousands of Palestinian Christians living in “Israeli”-occupied West Bank villages and cities such as Ramallah, Bethlehem and Taybeh would travel to Al-Quds's Old City at Easter to take part in the prayers, processions and rituals such as the Holy Fire ceremony. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre itself is in East Al-Quds, which was captured by "Israel" from Jordan in the six-day war of 1967 and unilaterally annexed in 1980.

Yet centuries of tradition have been ruptured by "Israel’s" increasingly draconian control over Palestinian movement – which means any Palestinian in the West Bank living outside Al-Quds, must obtain a military permit if they want to enter the city. For years, Christians in Palestinian territories were regularly granted permits to visit Al-Quds around Easter but since October 2023, they have become almost impossible to obtain.

This Easter, the entity announced it had issued 6,000 permits, though there are 50,000 Christians – mostly Catholic or Greek Orthodox – living in the West Bank beyond East Al-Quds. However, in reality, just 4,000 were given, according to Christian leaders, and often only to a few members of each family who applied.

These permits are valid for just one week and do not allow the Palestinian pilgrims to stay in Al-Quds overnight, meaning they have to make the grueling journey back to the West Bank by bus or taxi – crossing a multitude of army checkpoints – every evening, limiting the festivities they can take part in. A group from the village of Taybeh said the "Israeli" forces still did not allow them to cross over to Al-Quds for Palm Sunday even though they had valid permits.

Omar Haramy, who runs Sabeel, a Christian organization based in Al-Quds said, “People are very afraid and many will not risk attending the Easter processions anymore." He said several staff were beaten last year as they tried to attend Easter festivities in the Old City, and Christians in the Old City regularly faced hostility outside churches or as they went about their daily lives.