May 1, 2009


Jerusalem – Ma’an – A Palestinian Christian was hospitalized after being severely beaten by Israeli police in East Jerusalem's Old City on Friday.

The Palestinian who lives on Latin Patriarch Street in East Jerusalem, Samer Andrea Karkar, was assaulted near an Italian restaurant and store, both of which he owns, on the same street.

The pope is scheduled to visit the area during his upcoming visit to Jerusalem next Thursday.

Witnesses told Ma'an that Israeli police had prevented Palestinian residents from passing through the street under the pretext that it was being renovated before the pope's visit. When Samer tried to convince the police to allow his sister and her sleeping children to return home, police ordered him to leave one of them behind, for reasons that were not immediately clear.

Police then told Samer that they "do not want to see him on the entire street" and eventually threw him on the ground, while other police officers beat him so severely that he was ultimately taken for treatment at Hadasa Hospital in Jerusalem.

He was also taken into a police station, despite that his restaurant was still open.

As’ad Mazzawi, a lawyer and eyewitness of the incident, went to the police department, but was not allowed inside. After Israeli police interrogated Samer, he was released and transferred to the Israeli hospital for medical exams.

Police have been telling the residents and store owners in the East Jerusalem neighborhood that the area will be shut down for the pope's visit, and that residents should stay inside their homes for the duration of his visit, without attempting to leave them.