During the Holy Week, Jerusalem has a special spiritual connection for Christians all around the world as it is the time of the year when pilgrims visit the Old city. However, that period also represents a time of new restrictions for Palestinians, especially for Christian Palestinians who experience a number of obstacles to visit the holiest places that violate their freedom of religion and worshiping. During Easter, Palestinian Christians living outside of Jerusalem in the West Bank and Gaza are required to apply for permits to access their holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem. It is estimated that of those, only 2,000 - 3,000 Palestinian Christians receive permits. In 2011 Israel restrictions prevented Palestinian Christians from attending Holy Fire Saturday in Jerusalem. Israel allows only 8,000 pilgrims and just a few hundred Palestinians. On this edition of the show we will be looking at the obstacles that Christian Palestinians face and how these restrictions affect them.
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