Israel extremists storm church as priest challenged over cross

Jewish extremists have continued to storm and occupy the grounds of a church property in occupied East Jerusalem, as one clergyman was harassed for wearing a crucifix.

Issa Musleh, a spokesman for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, said in an interview with The New Arab’s sister site that the settlers continue their "provocative" presence on the church's land, as well as foul-mouthed tirades against Christian clergy.

In one video shared on social media, one of the Jewish settlers who was asked to leave the church grounds is seen using offensive slurs.

The New Arab could not verify the video.

A group of ultra-orthodox young men have invaded the grounds of a Jerusalem church claiming "Mount Zion belongs to the Jewish people." When asked to leave they said: "You and your fucking church can leave. Every minute you are here it's robbery." pic.twitter.com/Bh7amuMVi8

— Tarek El samra (@egypt64) July 21, 2023

"The incursion came after the Orthodox Church was able to recover the 12-dunum (1.2 hectares) piece of land that the settlers had tried to seize, claiming that it was public land, ignoring the church's ownership rights to it, which was confirmed by the court in its decision," Musleh told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

He added that Israeli authorities forced the church to pay an exorbitant amount of 800,000 shekels (about $220,000) in accumulated fines "illegally imposed on the church previously".

He condemned Israel for not punishing the Jewish extremists.

Meanwhile, Father Nikodemus Schnabel from Germany was asked to remove his cross as he toured Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday with German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, according to a video shared by the Palestinian mission in the UK and Israeli media outlets.

"It's very big [in reference to the cross] and it's inappropriate for this place. You need to respect this place, can you please put it aside?" a guide is heard telling Schnabel, abbot of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem.

She is also heard asking people present not to take pictures.

The abhorrent discrimination against Palestinian Christians and Christian clergy in occupied #Jerusalem continues. Today an Israeli guard asked Abbot of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem, @paternikodemus, to take off his cross as he was touring the old city alongside a visiting… pic.twitter.com/7HRqoKK8ix

— Palestine in the UK (@PalMissionUK) July 19, 2023

"This is not a provocation, I’m an abbot, this is my dress, this is how I’m dressed," Schnabel says, as the woman replies she had a problem with the crucifix around his neck and not his attire.

"The cross is part of my dress code, I’m a Roman Catholic abbot, this is how I dress, so you want from me not to dress as my faith tells me," he continues.

The German priest has allegedly been spat on and physically assaulted before.

Attacks against Christian holy sites, including cemeteries and members of the clergy, have surged in the past few years, prompting heads of churches to issue a call for international protection.

In January, two Jewish settlers committed an act of vandalism at a Christian cemetery near Jaffa Gate, located outside the Old City of Jerusalem. Following that incident, in February, a Jewish-American tourist toppled a statue at a Catholic Church in the Old City near Bab al-Asbat (Lion's Gate).

Worshipers were attacked by suspected Jewish fundamentalists inside the Church of the Tomb of the Virgin Mary in the Gethsemane a couple of months ago.

Israel placed restrictions during Easter celebrations in Jerusalem this year.