The Presidential Higher Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine issued a strongly worded statement condemning a group of settlers for attacking the Armenian Monastery located in occupied East Jerusalem. The committee clarified that the attack included humiliating practices such as spitting at the entrance of the monastery and throwing stones towards it, emphasizing that these actions fall within attempts to restrict the authentic Christian presence in the Holy City.

The committee indicated in its official statement that this escalation is not an isolated incident, but rather comes within the context of a comprehensive colonial approach targeting churches, mosques, and clergy alike. It stressed that these practices aim to impose new facts on the ground in Jerusalem and the West Bank, coinciding with the ongoing comprehensive military aggression on the Gaza Strip, which constitutes a blatant violation of international laws guaranteeing freedom of worship and the protection of holy sites.

The committee linked the escalation of settler attacks in Jerusalem with the ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people in all occupied territories, especially with the martyrdom of 18 people in the Gaza Strip in recent hours. It considered that this synchronicity highlights the seriousness of the current stage in which the occupation and its settlers seek to eliminate the Palestinian presence and its holy sites through excessive force and systematic violations affecting people and stone.

In conclusion of its statement, the committee issued an urgent appeal to the international community to bear its legal and moral responsibilities towards what is happening in occupied Jerusalem. It demanded real pressure on the occupation authorities to rein in settler attacks and hold those involved accountable, while emphasizing the need to provide immediate international protection for Islamic and Christian holy sites as a global human and religious heritage that must not be violated.

This attack represents a new provocation targeting the Christian presence and its holy sites in the Holy City, and comes within a continuous series of colonial violations.