WCC condemns Israeli suppression of religious freedom
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The World Council of Churches (WCC) sheds light on the broader context of Palestinian Christians' struggles, with their numbers dwindling and discrimination persisting amid Israeli occupation practices.
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Orthodox monks tour the Church of the Nativity in Beit Lahm in the occupied West Bank near occupied Al-Quds (AFP via Getty Images)
The World Council of Churches condemned the Israeli occupation's violation of religious freedom in occupied Palestine on Tuesday.
In a strongly worded statement, the Council stated that the Israeli occupation prevented thousands of worshippers last Friday from celebrating the Christian holiday of the transfiguration of Jesus on "Mount Tabor" in Lower Al-Jaleel.
It is worth noting that the transfiguration of Jesus is considered one of the most important Christian holidays. Celebrations are held annually on "Mount Tabor", and up to 10,000 Christians take part in the events.
The Council, which encompasses thousands of churches around the world, considered the denial of access to the church for the celebration a "violation of the freedom of worship."
The Secretary-General of the organization, Reverend Jerry Filo, as reported by the Israeli Ynet website, said, "At least 1,000 cars were waiting at the barriers set up by the Israeli police on their way to the church, resulting in a delay of two and a half hours."
Filo noted that "a member of the administrative committee of the Council was among those detained."
The Council includes 349 churches from all over the world, followed by 590 million worshippers, and its headquarters are located in the Ecumenical Center in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to Ynet, thousands of Christian worshippers from the Orthodox sect were going to celebrate the Transfiguration Feast, but they were forced to return under the pretext of not obtaining the required permits shortly before the celebration started.
The organization was surprised when it learned of a last-minute ban on gatherings on "Mount Tabor" and in the open area near the church, as per Filo.
He mentioned that "the harassment of the Christian celebration comes after the repeated harassment faced by Christians in Al-Quds, Haifa, and other places."
The Secretary-General of the World Council of Churches pointed out that canceling prayers and imposing restrictions on the lives of the Christian community in the Holy Land under the pretext of security is completely unacceptable.
Earlier, Daily Mail stated that Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land, in the occupied cities of Al-Quds and Beit Lahm, are calling for help as their numbers continue to dwindle, and they face discrimination and economic difficulties due to Israeli occupation practices.
Estimates indicate that the number of Palestinian Christians has reached 2.3 million, the vast majority of whom reside outside Palestine.
The percentage of Christians in occupied Palestine does not exceed 1% after they constituted about 11.2% before the Nakba in 1948, and the main reason for this decline is the Israeli occupation's policy of expelling them from their land.
Forty-five thousand Christians have been living in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967, distributed between the occupied West Bank, where 40,000 reside, the Gaza Strip, inhabited by 850 Christians, and occupied Al-Quds, which hosts fewer than 4,000 of them. The latest estimates show that their proportion does not exceed 0.60% of the total Palestinians in the occupied territories.
The presence of Palestinian Christians is concentrated in the cities of Beit Lahm, Al-Quds, Al-Nasirah, Ramallah, Haifa, Yafa, Birzeit, and several villages in northern Al-Jaleel.
Israeli brutality against Christians is not new to the entity. Earlier this year, Al Mayadeen correspondent in occupied Al-Quds reported that the occupation forces prevented Christians from freely reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, adding that one of the priests was attacked by the IOF while on his way to the church.
Last year, 350 Gazan Christians applied for permits to celebrate Christmas in the holy cities of occupied Al-Quds and occupied Beit Lehm, yet they did not receive any response. In parallel, 80 had their permits flatly rejected by Israeli authorities - for no reason - according to the director of Public Relations at the Orthodox Church in Palestine, Kamel Ayyad.
Read more: No Christmas where Christ was born
