Orthodox Christian Holy Light celebrations in Jerusalem face police restrictions and attacks.
Thousands of Palestinian Christians and pilgrims celebrated the Orthodox Holy Light ceremony in Jerusalem's Old City under heavy Israeli police presence, limiting attendance to 1,800 people inside and 1,200 more outside. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch emerged from the sealed empty tomb with a lighted candle, an act considered an annual Holy Saturday miracle before Orthodox Easter Sunday. The churches protested the large police presence, which they see as part of long-standing efforts to push out the local Christian community. Israeli police set up checkpoints at the entrance to and across the walled Old City, leaving thousands unable to reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.