Security was reinforced in the narrow alleys of the old city, sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, and located in East Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967.
By coincidence of the calendar, thousands of Palestinians also passed through the streets carrying out the Ramadan fast, the holy month of Islam, and attended Friday prayers at the Al Aqsa mosque.
“It is very exciting to be here on this Good Friday. We feel deep sadness, probably even stronger because of what is happening” in Gaza, declared Australian John Timmons, who claims to have thought twice before traveling to the Holy City.
The war broke out on October 7, after the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in southern Israel, which left some 1,160 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli sources.
In response, Israel launched an air and ground offensive in Gaza that has already left more than 32,600 dead, mostly civilians, according to the Ministry of Health of the territory, governed by Hamas since 2007.
“A very special place”
In Jerusalem, the solemn procession along the Via Dolorosa begins at the place where, according to tradition, Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to death.
Catholics and Protestants will celebrate Easter on Sunday. For the Orthodox, the holiday commemorating the resurrection of Christ falls this year in early May.
In the narrow white stone streets, the Italian Mario Tioti claimed to have felt that the sanctity of the city transcended all tensions.
“It is a very special place. [Aquí] we can feel the Christ. He walked here,” said the man, 64 years old.
Among the crowd were faithful of all ages, men in cassocks, others carrying a wooden cross, nuns and tourists.
James Joseph, an American who has long lived in Jerusalem and is known as “Jesus,” compared the war in Gaza to the evangelical episode of the “Massacre of the Innocents,” in which Herod, king of Judea, orders death. of thousands of babies.
“The suffering of these innocents [en Gaza y en Israel] “It is tragic, but it is not vain,” he told AFP in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where according to Christian tradition Jesus rose from the dead.
Via Dolorosa Palestine
Inside the basilica, the faithful sang songs, lit candles and embraced the anointing stone, where Christ was washed and wrapped in a shroud before being transferred to the tomb.
For some Palestinians, reaching the Al Aqsa mosque, the third holy site of Islam, was synonymous with obstacles.
Linda Al Khatib explained that the Israeli security detail turned the journey into an ordeal.
It usually takes five minutes to reach the compound from his village, located on the outskirts of Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank. But this time it took 45 minutes.
“I came to pray because it is a very special day, especially during Ramadan. But I am very sad, there are not many visitors and there is no one. I was afraid the entire journey,” she confided.
For some however, the war had a positive side, as it kept tourists away.
“The last time I came there were many many people trying to enter the tomb [del Cristo]” recalled American Timothy Curtiss. “It was like Disneyland. This year we entered directly,” he noted.
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