Christian faithful mark Easter in Jerusalem

Christian worshippers gathered in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection, on Sunday to observe the Easter holiday.

Thousands took part in mass at the church in the historic Old City, home to holy sites to the three monotheistic faiths.

Tens of thousands arrived in Jerusalem now that most coronavirus restrictions have been lifted.

Sunday is Easter in the western Christian calendar, and is Palm Sunday for eastern Orthodox Christians.

This year it coincides with the Jewish Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan for the first time in more than three decades.

Elsewhere in the Old City, Palestinian protesters clashed with police at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound after officers closed the flashpoint shrine, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, to allow Jewish visitors.