Greek Orthodox Abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Claudius, looks at a car sprayed with anti-Christian graffiti reading "price tag" and slashed tires outside his monastery on 12 December 2012. (Photo: AFP - Gali Tibbon)
Updated 6:45pm: A monastery and an Armenian cemetery in Jerusalem were vandalized overnight Tuesday, as Israeli police said Jewish extremists were most likely responsible for the hate crimes.
Reports of settlers storming into the al-Aqsa mosque the same night could not be confirmed independently by Al-Akhbar.
Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told Ma'an that hateful graffiti was sprayed on the walls of the Monastery of the Cross and three neighboring vehicles were also damaged.
Police are investigating the incident, he added.
Anti-Christian graffiti such as "Jesus is a son of a bitch," and Israeli nationalist slogans were found on the church and nearby vehicles, Israeli media reported.Graffiti reading “price tag” were also sprayed on the monastery.
One car had "Happy Hanukkah, triumph for the Maccabees" written on it, Ynet said, referring to the ongoing Jewish holiday which coincides with the Christmas period.
The “price tag” slogan is used by some Israeli extremists who vandalize or destroy Palestinian land or property. The attacks have included multiple arson attacks on cars, mosques and olive trees.
Perpetrators are rarely caught.
A priest from the monastery said he forgives whoever committed the attack, which is the seventh of its kind.
"It saddens me deeply," Father Claudio said. "I believe in Jesus and some don't, it's their problem. We believe in peace and I forgive whoever did this the first time and this time."
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said graffiti insulting to Jesus Christ was also "sprayed on the gates of the entrance of the Armenian cemetery."
The Middle East Monitor reported that dozens of Jewish extremists stormed into the al-Aqsa mosque courtyard on Tuesday night to perform "Talmudic rituals" and write on the walls.
Such takeovers of mosques occur frequently, often with the approval and tacit protection of the Israeli military.
Price-tag attacks by Jewish extremists against religious sites are commonplace in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
In October, "price-tag" and anti-Christian slogans were sprayed on the gate of the Monastery of Saint Francis, just outside of the Old City.
In early September, suspected Jewish extremists torched the wooden door of a Jerusalem monastery and in February extremists wrote "Death to Christianity" on two Jerusalem churches.
Last December, an ancient mosque in Jerusalem was torched and sprayed with the Star of David, "price tag," "Muhammad is a pig" and "A good Arab is a dead Arab" in Hebrew.
Reports of settlers storming into the al-Aqsa mosque the same night could not be confirmed independently by Al-Akhbar.
Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told Ma'an that hateful graffiti was sprayed on the walls of the Monastery of the Cross and three neighboring vehicles were also damaged.
Police are investigating the incident, he added.
Anti-Christian graffiti such as "Jesus is a son of a bitch," and Israeli nationalist slogans were found on the church and nearby vehicles, Israeli media reported.Graffiti reading “price tag” were also sprayed on the monastery.
One car had "Happy Hanukkah, triumph for the Maccabees" written on it, Ynet said, referring to the ongoing Jewish holiday which coincides with the Christmas period.
The “price tag” slogan is used by some Israeli extremists who vandalize or destroy Palestinian land or property. The attacks have included multiple arson attacks on cars, mosques and olive trees.
Perpetrators are rarely caught.
A priest from the monastery said he forgives whoever committed the attack, which is the seventh of its kind.
"It saddens me deeply," Father Claudio said. "I believe in Jesus and some don't, it's their problem. We believe in peace and I forgive whoever did this the first time and this time."
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said graffiti insulting to Jesus Christ was also "sprayed on the gates of the entrance of the Armenian cemetery."
The Middle East Monitor reported that dozens of Jewish extremists stormed into the al-Aqsa mosque courtyard on Tuesday night to perform "Talmudic rituals" and write on the walls.
Such takeovers of mosques occur frequently, often with the approval and tacit protection of the Israeli military.
Price-tag attacks by Jewish extremists against religious sites are commonplace in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
In October, "price-tag" and anti-Christian slogans were sprayed on the gate of the Monastery of Saint Francis, just outside of the Old City.
In early September, suspected Jewish extremists torched the wooden door of a Jerusalem monastery and in February extremists wrote "Death to Christianity" on two Jerusalem churches.
Last December, an ancient mosque in Jerusalem was torched and sprayed with the Star of David, "price tag," "Muhammad is a pig" and "A good Arab is a dead Arab" in Hebrew.
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