Not only are Muslims still being routinely harassed and attacked, but now attacks on Christians and Christian sites of worship are also rising sharply:
At the end of January, an extremist Jewish mob hurled chairs and damaged property in violent scenes at an Armenian-owned restaurant by New Gate in the Old City. There were cries of "Death to Arabs, Death to Christians".
The next month, a religious Jewish American tourist vandalised a statue of Christ with a hammer at the Church of the Flagellation on the Way of the Cross.
In a video shot at the scene, a Palestinian guard could be heard shouting "call the police" while the man he has wrestled to the floor calls out: "you're not allowed to have idols." .
Over the years, cases of spitting, cursing and pushing priests in the Old City have become routine. However, church leaders say recently there has been more sectarian abuse.
"It's happening because there is hatred and fanaticism, radicalisation of a part of the Israeli society," says Bishop William Shomali of the Latin Patriarchate.
He suggests the rise of the far right in Israeli politics has played a role. The current Israeli government includes ultranationalists, such as finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who advocate policies showing intolerance for those who do not share their religion.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-65204037
Will onlookers like jp4 - usually comfortable to see innocent Muslim children mown down with rubber bullets - start to turn a more sympathetic ear now that attacks are being carried out on Christians too? Might the Israeli government's Western bankrollers now start to exert more pressure on Netanyahu to cease his genocide on the West Bank?
