5 arrested for 'spitting' at Christians, churches in Jerusalem --- Reuters

Israeli police on Wednesday (October 4) arrested five people suspected of spitting towards Christians or churches in the Old City of Jerusalem and formed a special investigative team to deal with growing complaints of hostile gestures against Christians. No details were provided on the identities of the people who were arrested. Members of the area's small Christian community have said they have faced growing harassment and intimidation from Jewish ultranationalists, particularly since Netanyahu's hard-right government took office late last year. Wednesday's arrests came as the city prepared for its annual Jerusalem March, an event that usually draws huge crowds, including thousands of Christian pilgrims. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the incident, promising to take "immediate and decisive action". The Old City's patchwork of narrow alleys surround some of the holiest sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims, and the local communities have long developed ways of living together despite regular spikes in tension, especially around religious and national holidays.

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