GETTY Easter ban: Gaza Strip Christians have been forbidden from visiting Jerusalem

FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Christians in the Gaza Strip must apply for permits to travel to Jerusalem but this year, despite applying, none have been handed out. Israel had previously warned this year it would only grant permits to those aged 55 or older but even these have not yet been forthcoming. It comes amid rising tension between Israel and Palestine following US President Donald Trump’s decision to acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The decision sparked protests and riots and Israel has now imposed stricter restrictions on those wishing to visit from Gaza.

GETTY An image of the Virgin Mary at the West Bank ahead of Easter 2018

The lack of permits, despite more than 600 applications from the Strip’s 1,000 or so Christians, has been met with despair and anger among Gaza’s Christian community. Father Ibrahim Shomali of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said: “We have to have free access to the Holy Land, free access to our holy places. “Of course, we apply, but in reality, there must be no applying for permits to come to visit your own places. “Israel will close every single checkpoint, and this will be more strict than any other year because of the proclamation of Trump and the effects we got from it, and that we will get from it.”

It comes after an Iraqi priest warned Christianity in the Middle East was on the brink of bring reduced to all but a “token religion”. Iraq in particular has seen Christianity plummet after Islamic State fighters destroyed Christian communities and churches. Father Salar Kajo of the Churches' Nineveh Reconstruction Committee said: “We have to rebuild now – if we take more time families will leave and Christianity will disappear from Iraq. “In Batnaya, the first place I visited was the church and I could see that everything had been destroyed.

GETTY Christians celebrating Easter in Jerusalem, where Gaza Strip Christians will be banned this year