Israeli occupation forces turned Jerusalem, especially the Jaffa Gate area and the Old City, into a military base, deploying numerous checkpoints. This coincided with Christian churches holding Easter services at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Occupation authorities forced six Jerusalemites to demolish their own homes south of Al-Aqsa Mosque under threats of hefty fines and the cost of forced demolition. It was emphasized that these aggressions will not succeed in changing the historical and legal status of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and the Palestinian people and the world will not accept them. On Saturday, occupation forces seized two bulldozers in the town of Dir Ghassan northwest of Ramallah. Israeli forces set up a military checkpoint at the entrance to the western suburbs of Bethlehem, as well as a checkpoint at the entrance to the village of Yabrud east of Ramallah. In addition, settlers, under the protection of occupation forces, stormed the ruins of Sruj west of Jenin, between the villages of Yamon and Arqa. This move came after the occupation had previously approved the seizure of lands in the area for the construction of a new settlement. Also, brothers Mahmoud and Muhammad Khalifa Awda and Mahmoud Taawil were forced to demolish their homes in the Bustan neighborhood of Silwan. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed hope on Saturday that the 'Great Resurrection' would mark the beginning of a new era filled with hope, and that peace and love would prevail in Palestine and the world. Meanwhile, celebrations in Palestinian churches were not without harassment from the occupation army, which ordered six Palestinians to demolish their homes in Silwan south of Al-Aqsa Mosque. In a message to Theophilus III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem and all the Holy Lands, and the Arab Orthodox parish on the occasion of Easter, Abbas said: 'Our people love life and their homeland, and we will celebrate this precious occasion holding on to hope and faith in God and our legitimate rights, despite the escalating violations of the occupation: settlement expansion, settler terrorism, land theft and seizure, economic strangulation, isolating the Holy City, preventing prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque, closing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and St. James's Cathedral to believers, and denying them their sacred right to pray, especially on holidays.' On Saturday, Israeli forces removed the Palestinian flag from the scouts' uniforms in occupied Jerusalem, on the occasion of the 'Holy Saturday' celebrations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Jerusalem Governorate stated that the policy of self-demolition is part of a systematic plan targeting the Palestinian presence in the city, aiming to forcibly displace residents and harass them. Wael Tahan and his brothers were forced to demolish their homes, which had stood for 30 years, in the Ras al-Amud neighborhood of Silwan south of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
