Easter without pilgrims in Jerusalem. The war in Gaza is scary. This year we have not seen the tourists who flock to the Holy Land to visit the places where Christianity was born, where Jesus preached, where he died and rose again. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, just a handful of nuns and religious attended the ceremony of the Washing of the Feet.
As well as the Good Friday procession along the Via Dolorosa, the route that Jesus is believed to have taken when dragging the cross to Golgotha. Italians, French, Spanish preferred to stay at home. Even though Easter celebrations took place “subdued” in Rome, Paris and Madrid too. The Old City of Jerusalem mourns. Not only because there are no pilgrims but because a few kilometers away, in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army’s raids continue. To capture Hamas terrorists, of course. However, many innocent Palestinians are involved. The echo of the conflict echoes in the silence of the holy places.
“And the Christian Palestinians who live in Jerusalem and the West Bank find themselves facing severe restrictions when entering the Old City to celebrate Easter,” reports Al Jazeera, the Qatari television which interviewed traders and hoteliers. «Here Easter has always been a celebration. Jerusalem is “holy” for three religions. Now the streets are deserted, the bazaars empty, the pilgrims from Europe and the United States have not been seen at all”, they say. “I didn’t sell anything,” Fayaz Dakkak, owner of a souvenir shop, shakes his head. The wood-carved crucifixes are still all on the shelves. The sacred icons sorted in boxes. In the ghost city, the specter of the Gaza war strikes even though the cannon fire is far away. For Muslims it is Ramadan time. They would like to go and pray in the Al-Aqsa mosque, built on the hill where, according to tradition, Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, ascended to Heaven. Only children and the elderly can enter, everyone else is prohibited. Israel fears clashes. “These are dark days, difficult days”, underlines the Reverend Isaac Munther.
«The restrictions have definitely increased this year for us here in Bethlehem too. Jerusalem is twenty minutes away by car and we can’t go there. We are used to praying in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher but we are forced to give it up.” “We saw Israeli settlers attack churches and even priests and nuns walking in Jerusalem,” testify the coordinators of Christian Youth interviewed by the Arab media. The Greek Orthodox Church has criticized what it called “heavy restrictions” on freedom of worship during Easter. Restrictions deemed necessary, however, by the Israeli police to safely celebrate the “Holy Fire” ceremony during which a flame is taken from the tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and with this the candles of the faithful are lit.
«An excuse to introduce other bans – according to the Christian community – The ceremony has taken place for centuries without incidents». At Easter the world looks to Jerusalem, but Jerusalem this year does not open its arms to the world. Instead, look to Gaza and the peace that (hopefully) will perhaps come at Easter. This morning, talks between Israel and Hamas will resume to find an agreement on the truce. Talks that were interrupted due to Hamas’ refusal to consider the return of the inhabitants of the northern Strip without the withdrawal of the Tel Aviv army. Condition linked to the release of the hostages captured in the assault on 7 October.
#escalation #risk #Europe #Deserted #Jerusalem #Time
2024-04-01 09:11:24