Palestinian Christians attend scaled-down Good Friday events in Jerusalem

Hundreds of Christians took part in a Good Friday procession in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday, one of Christianity’s holiest days, but the war in Gaza meant the crowds were significantly smaller than in previous years.

The Palestinian Authority said that more than 30,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive launched after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7. The attack killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.

Since then, many Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been unable to enter Jerusalem through Israeli checkpoints without special permission. According to 2022 data from the U.S. State Department, there are 1,300 Christians in Gaza and 50,000 Christians in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The IDF said the checkpoints were set up to ensure Israelis were protected from terrorism.

In addition to Palestinian Christians, the restrictions prevent Palestinian Muslims from visiting Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque because Good Friday falls on the third Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Men under 65 and women under 50 are banned from visiting the mosque, Al Jazeera reported.

Friday’s procession was made up mainly of Palestinian Christians but also included foreigners from the Franciscan order, with the faithful walking the Way of the Cross, a road believed to have been walked by Jesus during his crucifixion.

Israeli police set up roadblocks along the road and changed shopping routes in the Muslim quarter of the Old City to make way for the march.

There are 14 stations for Christians to visit during the procession, each marking an event that Jesus experienced on the way to his crucifixion. The final stop is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried.

This report received some information from The Associated Press.