Palestine Foreign Ministry slams Israel over imposing taxes on al-Quds Churches

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has slammed Israel for targeting the Christian community in Palestine, particularly in al-Quds, by illegally imposing taxes on churches.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine in a statement on Saturday voiced its strong condemnation of Israel’s recent move to impose taxes on churches, their institutions, and properties in the occupied city of al-Quds through what it refers to as “occupation municipalities.”

The ministry stressed that Israel’s imposition of these taxes is illegal and the regime has no sovereignty over al-Quds, which exclusively belongs to the Palestinian people and their legitimate leadership.

“These actions are a blatant violation of international law and the city’s historical and legal ‘Status Quo’,” it added.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rejects Israeli Imposition of Taxes on Churches in Occupied Jerusalem

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine unequivocally condemns the recent actions by Israel, the illegal occupying power, to impose taxes on…

— State of Palestine - MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) June 29, 2024

“These unlawful measures are perceived as part of a broader strategy of extermination and ethnic cleansing that Israel is practicing against all the Palestinian People, particularly targeting the authentic Palestinian Christian presence in the Holy Land, most notably in [al-Quds],” the ministry said.

The ministry urged all nations to back the churches and the State of Palestine, calling for action to stop the serious violations of international law, UN Security Council resolutions, and the established historical and legal Status Quo.

In the end, the ministry further called for punitive measures to be taken against the provocative and illegal practices, emphasizing the need for countries to uphold their principles in protecting the authentic Christian presence in the Holy Land of Palestine.

The Palestinian Christians and Christianity

Muslims and Christians face the oppression of the occupying entity

Moreover, Leaders of major churches in Palestine accused Israeli authorities of launching a “coordinated attack” on the Christian presence in the Holy Land by initiating tax proceedings against them.

The Christian population in Palestine is a small minority, comprising less than 2% of the total population in Palestine and Israel territories. According to the US State Department, there are 182,000 Christians in the occupied land, 50,000 in the West Bank and al-Quds, and 1,300 in Gaza, with the majority being Palestinians.

About three percent of the Christian population living in Gaza has been killed since the start of Israel's aggression, according to the Palestinian church. This is while thirteen have died from lack of medicine including seven children and old people.

Church of Saint Porphyrius, the oldest church in Gaza and the third oldest in the world was destroyed by Israeli airstrike in last year, killing at least 18 people.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

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