“A MIRACLE”
A stone’s throw away from Al-Aqsa, the same religious fervour was present as Christians celebrated mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which encompasses the sites where Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified, entombed and later resurrected.
Tears streamed from the eyes of Uwde Sliman, a 40-year-old Ethiopian draped in a white shawl, as she came out of the church.
“I don’t have any words”, she said apologetically and with a smile.
“It’s been one month, it’s very, very, very hard, but thank God we have life … all Christians are happy today.”
Imad Marcos was enthusiastic at the Church’s opening, posing in front of the building first with sunglasses on and then off.
“I wasn’t sure that it was going to be open. But when I came over, it was a miracle” said the US-Egyptian businessman, who makes a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from Miami every year.
“I might travel tomorrow, not today. Because I will have to enjoy here the whole day,” he said.
Father Andrea, who officiated mass on Thursday (Apr 9), was not surprised by the few worshippers present “in these difficult times”.
“Little by little, we hope they’ll come back”, he said.
“LIKE AT HOME”
At the Western Wall, dozens of Jewish worshippers prayed in the late morning.
“I’m so happy to be able to come back. Here I feel at home,” Ayla, 19, said.
Yehuda Bandel, a 70-year-old retired teacher living in a suburb of the coastal city of Tel Aviv, felt the same joy.
Bandel came with his entire family to celebrate his grandson’s upcoming bar mitzvah, the Jewish coming-of-age ritual.
“It’s the first time that he is wearing tefillin”, Bandel said enthusiastically, referring to the small black leather boxes containing Torah scrolls.
Beyond the reopening of the holy sites in Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities have lifted most of the restrictions linked to the state of emergency.
This excludes the country’s northern border area near Lebanon, where the war against Iran-backed Hezbollah continues.