Jerusalem / PNN /
Armed Israeli police Thursday evening broke into The Church of the Pater Noster in the occupied city of Jerusalem, prompting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot to abandon a scheduled visit to the site.
“Without authorization, Israeli police entered the site carrying weapons. The Minister did not wish to visit the compound in these conditions,” the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement.
“When the delegation had departed, two staff members of the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem were arrested by Israeli police, despite the fact that they are officials with diplomatic status. They were then released following the intervention of the Minister,” it added.
Minister Barrot stated that “these actions are unacceptable” while affirming that “France strongly condemns these actions, with particular emphasis on the fact they took place in a context whereby France is doing everything it can to work towards the de-escalation of violence in the region.”
The Ministry affirmed that “the Israeli Ambassador to France will be summoned to the Ministry in the coming days.”
Situated to the right of the Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives, the Church of the Pater Noster is a Roman Catholic church, which was originally established by the Byzantines at the site where tradition holds that Jesus Christ taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father, who art in heaven.”
Known as the “Alona” Church, “Alona” signifies the Mount of Olives in Greek. The current church was constructed in 1873 upon the foundations of earlier churches. One of its notable features is the presence of ceramic plaques displaying the Lord’s Prayer written in over 70 languages.
