Jerusalem

Christians in the Holy Land are marking Good Friday this year amid signs the coronavirus crisis is winding down, with religious sites open to limited numbers of faithful but none of the mass pilgrimages usually seen in the Holy Week leading up to Easter.

Israel's recent evacuation, destruction and confiscation decisions against Palestinians violate international law, according to a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on March 19. 

Turkey on March 14 condemned the decision by the Balkan state of Kosovo to open an embassy to Israel in the flashpoint city of Jerusalem.

Opening the embassy was an extremely "unfortunate" decision taken by the leaders of a people who endured great suffering to gain their independence, said a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement.

Turkey on March 14 voiced "concern" over the Czech Republic's move to open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem.

Turkey has criticized the Czech Republic for opening a diplomatic office in Jerusalem despite the fact that the city's international status is guaranteed by the U.N. resolution.

“Suddenly one ran after another to take the cross. Thus, by groups of twenty, or fifty, or a hundred, they put up banners and began to journey to Jerusalem”

This Christmas was celebrated differently in the Biblical birthplace of Jesus.

There will be no foreign tourists and  pilgrims due to a coronavirus travel ban on foreign nationals.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' visit to Israel this week was successful. It was another step toward the consolidation of a friendship that is being actively supported by his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. This friendship is continuously producing new results that benefit both sides.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday visited Jerusalem's Yad Vashem memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, where he took part in a wreath-laying ceremony. Greece's conservative leader also visited the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, honoring the people who saved Jews during World War II. The list includes Evangelia Georgiadou, aunt of the Greek premier.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the Jerusalem Patriarchate and the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem on Tuesday. "The Greek state will always stand by the Jerusalem Patriarchate and the great mission it is undertaking in this difficult and, at the same time, exciting city and region," Mitsotakis told journalists.