The Higher Presidential Committee of Church Affairs in Palestine condemned the attack by extremist Israeli settlers on the Church of the Holy Spirit and the Greek Garden belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate on Mount Zion in occupied Jerusalem.
The statement stressed that the repeated attacks on the site and the church, the repeated incursions, the tampering with the contents of the church, the exhumation of the graves of the dead and the dumping of garbage in the church garden, in addition to the death threats against the security guard, is nothing but a continuation of the Israeli restrictions on churches in occupied Jerusalem and the appropriation of their property.
The statement added that the attacks on Islamic and Christian places of worship have become practiced in a systematic and organized manner, which is clearly represented by the daily incursions by extremists into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, in order to complete Israeli ambitions to control the Holy City and empty it of its native inhabitants. The statement pointed to the inaction of the Israeli occupation authorities in the arrest and trial of extremists known to the Israeli police. The complicity of the occupation authorities and its protection of Israeli settlers lead to an escalation of attacks on Islamic and Christian sites and the violation of their sanctity, which is a green light for the settlers to continue their harassment .
The Chairman of the Higher Presidential Committee of Church Affairs in Palestine and member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, H.E. Dr. Ramzi Khoury, called on all media outlets to expose these racist occupation practices, calling on the Palestinian people, especially Jerusalemites, to unite and confront the attacks on churches and their properties, as well as the repeated incursions into the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
H.E. Dr. Khoury appealed to the international community to break its silence and to assume its responsibility to provide protection to the Palestinian people, protect their right to practice their religious rituals without restrictions, and stop all forms of violations against the holy sites.
