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Under Israeli restrictions, Palestinian Christians mark quiet Holy Week ...
Occupied East Jerusalem – It’s Holy Week for many Christian denominations, marking the week during which Christians believe Jesus was arrested, crucified and resurrected here. And yet, the streets of the Old City’s Christian Quarter are deserted, the shops closed down.Boulos, a Palestinian Christian man in his mid-30s who did not wish to give his real name, still comes a couple of days a week to his shop, selling religious garments and wares. He keeps the entrance half-shuttered to evade Israeli authorities, who have ordered such shops closed during the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Monks hold Easter prayers in deserted Old City of Jerusalemlist 2 of 3How Israel’s record budget will finance expanding illegal settlementslist 3 of 3Palestinians in West Bank protest, strike against Israeli death penalty lawend of listAfter six years of severe interruptions to his business in the Old City – starting with the COVID pandemic and continuing with the series of wars since – business had just started to tick up with the return of some international pilgrims following the October ceasefire in Gaza.“Before the war [with Iran], business was still really bad. But it was at least enough to feed yourself,” said a despondent Boulos. “Now, there’s no business at all, no money at all.”It was around noon when a local Christian Ethiopian woman came in asking for a kilo of prayer candles, his first customer of the day.“Since the morning, I’ve been here for nothing,” said Boulos. “What will 35 shekels [$11.20] do for me? What’s the difference?”While most businesses in Israeli West Jerusalem are now allowed to be open – due to close proximity to bomb shelters – in the Palestinian Old City, where there are no such shelters, local businesses have been mostly forced to close. And it’s the Christian Quarter – heavily reliant on tourism – that shows the least signs of life.“It is the first time in my life to see Jerusalem as sad as it is,” said Brother Daoud Kassabry, a lifelong Jerusalemite and the principal at the College des Freres School in the Christian Quarter. There have been no in-person classes for more than a month. “This has been the most difficult month in our area here, really, in our time. For parents, for the school, for the students, for the teachers – for everybody.”Shuttered shops in the Jerusalem Old City’s Christian Quarter [Al Jazeera]‘This country is only meant for them’Normally, students from Brother Kassabry’s schoo...
Israel is losing Christian support after a Holy Week firestorm - The ...
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, leads a prayer service to mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem on March 29, 2026, following the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession. Photo by Ammar Awad / POOL / AFP By Mira Fox April 1, 2026 Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week for Christians, the lead-up to Easter, when Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Usually, it’s observed in large services with liturgical readings, where palm leaves are distributed to parishioners to commemorate the day that Jesus arrived in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. But this Holy Week, that wasn’t possible due to the war in Iran, which has limited gatherings in Israel due to safety concerns. Still, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem — the Catholic representative in Jerusalem, where many Christian denominations share custody of Christian holy sites — had planned to observe Palm Sunday with a smaller, private prayer in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem’s Old City to, as he said, “preserve the idea of the celebration in the Holy Sepulchre.” Israeli authorities, however, turned Pizzaballa and another priest away. “Life-saving restrictions have been applied to all holy sites in the Old City — this includes for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike,” said a spokesperson for the Israeli police forces. The decision — despite being quickly overturned — has set off a conflict, with American Christians worrying that Israel is persecuting Christianity . The incident has chipped away at one of Israel’s strongest allies: the U.S. The reaction to the Holy Sepulchre incident Usually, Holy Week is a big deal in Jerusalem, the site where the events Christians commemorate during the holiday took place. So when Pizzaballa was denied entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, outcry began immediately. U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee — a staunch Christian Zionist who is not Catholic — called for Israel to lift the restriction for Pizzaballa. Emmanuel Macron, president of France, condemned the decision, as did Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain. A statement from the Latin Patriarchate said the refusal “constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.” Middle East journalists and commentators pointed out that the restrictions limit gatherings to 50 people, far more than the two Pizzaballa arrived with, and that both Jewish and Muslim religious leaders had been all...
Limited Good Friday ceremony held at Holy Sepulchre as Israel bans ...
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem led a scaled-down Good Friday ceremony at Calvary in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, amid Israeli restrictions on attendance. Only around 15 clergy members took ...
Jerusalem churches reach temporary deal with Israeli authorities over ...
World · Middle East · Christians in Holy Land Jerusalem churches reach temporary deal with Israeli authorities over Holy Week access The announcement came after the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem and the custos of the Holy Land were restricted from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday.
