Settlers vandalise Christian cemetery in Jerusalem

Security cameras have captured the moment settlers destroyed 30 gravestones at a Protestant cemetery belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in occupied Jerusalem,  a source from the church said.

“The hatred and aggression was mainly directed at Christian symbols, as they deliberately destroyed several crosses,” he added.

“What if the attack was on a Jewish cemetery? What would the Israeli response be to that? What if an Arab carried out an attack on a Jewish cemetery?”

CCTV covering a part of the cemetery shows two young men carrying out the attack on Sunday, at one stage throwing chunks of marble at a notable grave and seemingly targeting certain graves.

The occupation police said in a statement that its officers arrived at the scene after receiving a report of vandalism. Photographs distributed by the police showed smashed tombstones and construction work destroyed.

The cemetery was opened by Samuel Gobat, a Protestant Bishop of Jerusalem in 1848. It is now owned by the Church Missionary Society, an Anglican organisation.

READ: Lapid: Ben-Gvir’s desecration of Al-Aqsa puts Israel in fight with half of the world

Protestant cemetery vandalised in occupied Jerusalem on 1 January 2023 [Twitter/AlQasal]

Protestant cemetery vandalised in occupied Jerusalem on 1 January 2023 [Twitter/AlQasal]