Vatican protests destruction of church access path

The Holy See's ambassador to Israel, Archbishop Antonio Franco, has asked Israeli authorities to permit an access path to a church in the former Arab village of Ikrit.

Last week, the Ma'aleh Yosef regional council dismantled a 150-meter path built by former villagers in preparation for Christmas mass. A court had delayed the demolition order issued by the regional council against the path pending further hearings, yet the path was demolished in violation of the injunction, after the council said it did not receive the court's decision.

The villagers of Ikrit were told to leave their homes during the War of Independence in 1948, when the nascent Israel Defense Forces seized the Upper Galilee region. The former Ikrit residents have lived in various other Arab communities in the area since 1948, and have not been allowed to return, despite a High Court of Justice ruling.

The only building still standing in the village after the IDF destroyed all the houses, the church is used by former residents who pray at the site.