Travel permits issued by Israel to allow Christians to leave Gaza and visit holy sites inside Israel during the upcoming Orthodox Easter holiday have been canceled, the Saint Porphyrios Orthodox Church in Gaza announced on its Facebook page.
No reason was given for the cancellation, which was transmitted to the church via the Palestinian Civil Affairs Ministry.
No official reason for the cancellation
“Based on the instructions received from the brothers in the Ministry of Civil Affairs – we inform you that the Easter permits have been canceled by the Israeli side,” the Church’s announcement read.
Around 700 permits were reportedly granted for the Easter holiday before the cancellation, according to UAE-based website The National News.
Contrary to Western Christianity, Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter one week later, which this year will be this coming weekend, culminating with Easter Sunday on April 16.
A Palestinian police officer walks by the gate at the Palestinian side of the crossing as Christians head to Bethlehem via Israel to attend Christmas ceremonies in the northern Gaza Strip, December 22, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)Residents of Gaza need special permits to leave the Hamas-controlled area and enter Israeli territory. In the past, Israel has routinely given out permits for Christians, especially in order to allow travel to holy sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem during Christmas.
The reason for the permits’ cancellation might lie in recent tensions between Israel and Gaza amid the broader conflict with Iran-affiliated groups.
For Christmas 2022, Israeli authorities approved travel for nearly 600 Christians from Gaza, according to COGAT, a unit in Israel’s Defense Ministry that coordinates civilian issues with Palestinians. COGAT stated that permits can get refused on security grounds.
In the Gaza Strip, the Christian population has plummeted from about 3,000 a decade ago to an estimated 1,000 today, most of them belonging to the Greek Orthodox church, but including some Catholics and Protestants.
This past week saw multiple attacks on Israel, including rockets fired from Lebanon, Gaza and Syria. Although different groups may be behind the attacks from those places, these groups are likely all linked to Iran.
Seth J. Frantzman and Reuters contributed to this story.
Comments are closed.