Christian churches following the Eastern calendar in Palestine commemorated "Holy Saturday," which precedes Easter Sunday, according to the WAFA news agency. Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine and Jordan led a special service at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, attended by a group of bishops and priests, as well as worshippers who managed to reach the church despite the restrictions and military barriers imposed by the Israeli army around the Old City.
The festive activities and scout marches that usually occur annually were absent due to the ongoing Israeli aggression since last October. After the light flowed from the "Holy Tomb" in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, it was transported to the provinces of Ramallah, Al-Bireh, Bethlehem, Jericho and the Jordan Valley, Nablus, and Jenin. The "Holy Light" is also distributed globally to light candles in churches.
In Ramallah, the light from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre reached the Transfiguration Church for the Orthodox in the city, where it was received with prayers in the absence of any festive displays, attended by Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Chairman of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs Ramzi Khoury, Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governor Laila Ghannam, Ramallah Mayor Issa Qasis, security officials, and several personalities and church leaders in the city, along with a group of priests and Christian clergy.
The "Holy Light" also arrived in the provinces of Bethlehem, Nablus, Jericho, and Jenin, as well as cities and towns within the 1948 territories. Christian churches in the provinces of Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin are united in celebrating Easter according to the Eastern calendar.
In Gaza, where the aggression and blockade prevented the "Holy Light" from reaching it from Jerusalem, prayers were held at the Church of St. Porphyrius for the Orthodox, attended by several displaced individuals present in the church.
