DayofPal—Israel’s Religious Freedom Data Center (RFDC) documented 83 Israeli attacks on Christians between April and June across the occupied territories, with most attacks occurring in occupied Jerusalem.
RFDC and the its Hotline for Documenting Harassment against Christians in Israel is a nongovernmental center specializing in documenting attacks related to freedom of worship.
The report reveals that 68 attacks took place inside Jerusalem, a city also revered by Christians. Two attacks were recorded in Haifa and the Galilee in northern occupied territories, one in the Sea of Galilee area, one in the West Bank, one in Beit Shemesh west of Jerusalem, and two in Mevaseret Zion west of Jerusalem.
According to RFDC report, many of the attacks took place in the Old City. Of the 68 attacks recorded in Jerusalem, 46 took place in the Old City, 13 in West Jerusalem and nine on Mount Zion, a historic hill southwest of the Old City, the report said.
The attacks included harassment such as spitting, verbal abuse, and physical assaults, including an attack on a nun and restrictions on Christian religious figures during important religious celebrations.
The report said harassment and attacks are increasingly taking place openly in public spaces. It cited a violent assault on a nun on Mount Zion and verbal abuse directed at a monk in a store.
Such attacks increased in recent years, especially during events like Jerusalem Day and the Flag March, and often occur openly in public spaces.
The center adds on its website that the reality in the Christian Quarter and the Old City of Jerusalem has long been sensitive and full of challenges and complexities, but that the situation changed radically for the worse in early 2023 with a rise in harassment
The center warn of worsening conditions for Christians and call for greater protection of religious freedoms and adherence to international law.
In April, Israeli police prevented Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in East Jerusalem during Christian holidays, and imposed restrictions on Christians taking part in Easter celebrations at the church.
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