JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna condemned Israeli authorities on Thursday for imposing obstacles on Christians wishing to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to celebrate the upcoming Christian holiday of Easter.

"It is the right of every Christian to reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre without facing any obstacles, or impediments," Hanna said in a statement.

"The Israeli security pretexts are unacceptable in every way," he added, calling on Orthodox and Christian institutions to facilitate the entrance of Christians to the holy sites.
---
A statement signed by signed by the heads of all recognized churches in the Holy Land later denounced the "awful scenes of the brutal treatment to clerics, average people and pilgrims in Jerusalem during Holy Saturday," lamenting that clergymen and average people "get beaten brutally and indiscriminately and be denied access to their churches under the pretext of keeping order."