Palestinians decry settler attack on Christian cemetery in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM

Palestinians on Wednesday condemned an Israeli settler attack on a Christian cemetery in occupied East Jerusalem.

Stone graves were destroyed with crosses toppled at the Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion, where Christians believe Jesus's Last Supper took place.

"This is not only a cowardly act, but also disgusting, and it is rejected by any human being,” Hosam Naoum, the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, told a press conference.

“This attack shows a clear hate speech against Christians in the city of Jerusalem, which we completely reject,” he added.

According to the Evangelical Episcopal Church in East Jerusalem, the attack was carried out by two young men on Jan. 1.

Naoum called on the Israeli authorities to bring the perpetrators of the cemetery attack to justice.

"We hope that this matter will not be repeated, because Jerusalem is a city of holy sites,” he added.

Israeli police said an investigation has been launched into the attack.

The Chief Justice of Palestine, Mahmoud al-Habash, said the attack reflects the “racist mentality” of Israel.

“This attack represents the racist and barbaric mentality of the Israeli state, which does not differentiate between the living and the dead,” he added in a statement.

Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, held the Israeli government responsible “for the repercussions of the Israeli extremists' attack on the Christian cemetery”.

“This assault and the desecration of Islamic and Christian tombs in Jerusalem reveal the true identity of the aggressive Zionist settlers against the [Palestinian] people and their lands and holy sites,” it said in a statement.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report.