JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – Patriarchs and heads of Christian churches in Jerusalem on Sunday released a joint statement denouncing attacks by Israeli police officers on worshipers and pilgrims during Holy Saturday at the Church of Holy Sepulcher.
Signatories of the statement highlighted that they saw “awful scenes of the brutal treatment to clerics, average people and pilgrims in Jerusalem during Holy Saturday.”
They added: “A day of joy was turned into a day of severe sadness and pain for several of our faithful brothers who were mistreated by a number of Israeli police officers at the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem leading to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.”
It is unacceptable, according to the statement, that clergymen and average people “get beaten brutally and indiscriminately and be denied access to their churches under the pretext of keeping order.”
The statement urged the Israeli government to denounce the violence that police practiced against worshipers and clergymen.
The patriarchs and heads of churches also denied claims of those who blamed the churches for what happened during the Holy week in Jerusalem. “These claims are counter to what happened in reality, and all heads of churches condemn the Israeli procedures and violations of the Christians’ rights,” the statement said.
The statement was signed by heads of all recognized churches in the Holy Land including the Roman Orthodox Church, the Latin Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, the Custodian of the Holy Land, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Maronite Church, the Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, and the Armenian Catholic Church.
Les chefs des Eglises chrétiennes de Jérusalem ont dénoncé dimanche la « punition brutale » infligée par la police israélienne à des prêtres et des pèlerins au cours des célébrations du « feu sacré », pendant la récente Pâque orthodoxe, au Saint-Sépulcre à Jérusalem.
« Nous, chefs des Eglises à Jérusalem avons assisté le coeur lourd aux scènes terribles du traitement brutal de notre clergé, de notre peuple et de nos pèlerins dans la Vieille ville de Jérusalem pendant le Samedi Saint », déplorent les patriarches orthodoxes et catholiques dans un communiqué.
« Un jour de joie et de célébrations a été transformé en un jour de grand chagrin et de peine pour certains de nos fidèles qui ont été maltraités par des policiers israéliens présents autour des portes de la Vieille ville et des ruelles qui mènent au Saint-Sépulcre », regrette le communiqué.
