Jewish settlers attack church in occupied East Jerusalem

In occupied East Jerusalem, Jewish settlers attacked the Church of St. Mary.

"The taxi driver who brought the two Jewish settlers told me that the settlers took off their kippah and entered the Church of St. Mary with their bags," Abu Naab said.

Stating that when he reached the church, one of the attackers grabbed the door and shouted, while the other attacked the people in the church with an iron bar in his hand, Abu Naab said that a member of the congregation was injured during the incident and they intervened with the people in the church.

Saying that the taxi driver caught the other Jewish settler, Abu Naab noted that the police arrived late to the scene, while the other attacker fled.

Abu Naab pointed out that the attackers were Jewish settlers and cursed in Hebrew during the attack.

PIXOLATED CHRISTIAN

In a written statement made by the Israeli Police, it was stated that some people in a church on the Mount of Olives threatened the congregation with an iron bar.

It was reported that the suspect, who threatened the congregation with an iron bar, was a 27-year-old mentally ill person from the south of Israel. In the statement, it was noted that there was no injury or damage to the church as a result of the incident.

In the statement, it was emphasized that "we will act decisively against attacks on holy places and all kinds of violence and will not make any concessions to bring the perpetrators to justice".

It was stated in the statement that the attacker was taken into custody and will be referred to the court today.

On the other hand, a source from the Israeli Police Spokesperson claimed that the suspect was "a Christian who is mentally ill".

'ISRAEL TARGETS OF CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM HOLY PLACES'

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack by issuing a written statement, stating that this incident was "the latest example of Israel's targeting of Christian and Muslim holy places in Jerusalem."

The ministry stressed that the repetition of Jewish settler attacks is "within the scope of Israel's crimes of Israeliizing and Judaizing Jerusalem".

The statement called for "an effective international and US intervention to stop the Israeli occupation, the attacks of the fanatical Jewish settlers, the Palestinian people in general, and Jerusalem and its holy places in particular."

Settler attacks on Christians and their holy sites in East Jerusalem
Jewish settler violence against the Christian community and holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem has been on the rise recently.

A fanatical Jewish settler attacked the historic church on the Road of Retribution in occupied East Jerusalem last month. The settler had broken the wooden statue of Jesus Christ, made in the 1920s, with a hammer in his hand.

Churches and international leaders of the Christian community in Jerusalem's Old City have made statements accusing the Israeli government of being indifferent to the attacks of fanatical Jewish settlers on holy sites, clergy and the public.

In the coalition government established by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of 2022 in Israel, names such as Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who are the supporters of Jewish settlers, who are known for their racist actions and discourses against the Palestinians, were appointed to critical positions.

Both names were involved in violence perpetrated by Jewish settlers in the past.

(AA)