West News Wire: The Palestinian Authority (PA) reported that a Palestinian man prevented an intended Israeli attack on a Christian church in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday.
According to a report by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, two Israelis entered the Church of Gethsemane and attempted to destroy objects there.
At the site, a Palestinian guy stopped them.
A Christian cemetery in East Jerusalem was vandalized by two extreme Israelis on New Year’s Day, which led to the attempted attack. At the Protestant cemetery, the assailants destroyed crosses and toppled tombstones.
Anglican bishop Husam Naoum remarked, “It really grieves us to see what happened over the New Year holiday when we discovered that more than 30 grave markers and crosses were destroyed by at least two Jewish extremists.”
“I ask for action to be taken; the perpetrators brought to the law and be a lesson for others.”
The bishop attributed the attack to increased hate speech within Israeli society.
Palestinians in Jerusalem experience frequent violence from Israeli settlers and forces and both Christian and Muslim holy places come under attack.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which is the third-holiest site in Islam and the most-sacred Muslim place in Palestine, often faces raids.
Israeli extremists commonly enter the site under the protection of Israeli forces as they worship in violation of the longstanding status quo arrangement in place there.
Violence against Palestinians at the compound often skyrockets during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year will begin later in March.
Israeli forces’ actions at Al-Aqsa during Ramadan 2021 were central to sparking an 11-day escalation in Gaza that saw more than 250 Palestinians killed by Israeli bombardment of the besieged coastal strip.
