In recent times, systematic and dangerous attacks have escalated by Jewish extremists against Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, the most recent of which was the attack on the Roman Orthodox Church west of Jerusalem, and setting fire to the entrance to the monastery leading to it.

During the past years, the Romanian Church has been subjected to a series of attacks and violations by religious Jews, as it is located near the Orthodox Jewish Quarter.

The Council of Heads of Catholic Churches said, "Unidentified persons set fire at the entrance to the monastery of the Romanian Church in Jerusalem."

"This is the fourth sabotage in a month that targets the monastery," he added, calling on the occupation authorities to seriously investigate these incidents and bring the aggressors to justice.

The church is located in Al-Misrara, west of Jerusalem, in an area adjacent to a neighborhood called “M'ah Shaareem,” which is inhabited by religious Jews.

It is considered one of the oldest churches in the city, with a historical landmark, and was built hundreds of years ago, before the "establishment of the occupation state".

Meanwhile, the head of the Christian National Gathering, Dmitry Deliani, reported to Safa that "the continued attacks by Jewish extremists against the Christian churches in Jerusalem constitute an expansion of the organized hostility and terror that is supported by the occupation government."

Deliani added that "the Romanian Church has been subjected to three attacks during the past two months by the same Israeli terrorist, without being arrested or held accountable for his crime, which encourages every extremist to commit more attacks on churches in general, and that church in particular."

He confirmed that the continued targeting of the church shows the complicity of the occupation government in terrorist acts targeting Christians and Muslims in Jerusalem, especially since the occupation police did not provide protection for the church from the attacks of extremists.

He indicated that the occupation and its settlers are targeting everything that is not Jewish in the city with the aim of expelling the Muslim and Christian Palestinians.

Moreover, he insisted that the church’s presence in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood reminds them that “this land is Palestinian, Islamic, Christian, and the Jews have no relationship with it,” so they go too far in attacking it.

Deliani explained that these extremist and racist groups are raised in religious schools supported by the occupation government financially, politically and legally, which confirms that "their crimes are nothing but organized terrorism."

He called for an international presence in Jerusalem to protect Islamic and Christian sanctities from Israeli terrorism, "as it is a historical, religious, civilized city for hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world."

For his part, Fakhri Abu Diab, a researcher on Jerusalem affairs, said that "the occupation authorities do not want any Islamic or Christian site in Jerusalem, so they continue their racist policies against everything that is not Jewish, and they provide support to settlers to implement those policies."

Abu Diab told Safa that "the Israeli attack on places of worship and holy sites comes within a systematic policy of removing the Islamic and Christian presence from Jerusalem, and making it a purely Jewish city."

He pointed out that the settlers have been trying for years to close, destroy and burn the Roman Church, in addition to deporting everyone inside it.

What encourages settlers to continue committing crimes against places of worship and holy sites is the absence of a real deterrent and strict punitive measures against them, said Abu Diab.

Source : Safa