Israeli police said they had launched an investigation into the desecration of the graves
Dozens of graves in a Protestant cemetery of Jerusalem were desecrated, reported local Christian officials on Wednesday, expressing “great concern”.
Israeli police said they had launched an investigation.
Crosses fallen to the ground and excavated graves were discovered in the Protestant cemetery of Mount Zion, next to the Old City of Jerusalem where Jesus had his last meal with the Apostles, according to Christian tradition.
“We discovered more than 30 broken tombstones and crosses,” said Hosham Naum, Anglican bishop in Jerusalem.
Surveillance footage posted on social media and broadcast by local media showed two men wearing traditional Orthodox Jewish clothing throwing stones and uprooting columns.
“These criminal acts were motivated by fanaticism and hatred against Christians,” the Jerusalem diocese said in a statement, also noting the video surveillance footage.
“We’re not just worried but also very sad,” said Hossam Naoum, explaining that the history of the cemetery dates back to the mid-19th century and includes the graves of many members of the clergy, scientists and politicians.
Some of them “are very important figures who had contributed to the history of Jerusalem and the lives of the people here,” he added.
Israel’s foreign minister said on Twitter that “this immoral action is an insult to religion.”
Mount Zion, where the Last Supper took place according to Christian tradition, is also important to Jews who believe that King David is buried there.
In December 2021, officials of the Churches of Jerusalem had declared that Christians had become “the target repeated attacks on behalf of radical and fringe groups” in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the Holy Land.
They had denounced the inaction of the authorities, accusations that had been characterized at the time as “unfounded” by Israeli diplomacy.
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