Tim Cupal in Jerusalem

Easter in the Holy Land in times of the Gaza war

Christians at the Good Friday procession along the Passion of Christ. This year is far from normal.(Bild: EPA)

Usually tens of thousands of believers flock to Jerusalem for the holidays. This year is different - the country is at war. Nevertheless, Palm Sunday last week was somehow joyful, a sign of life from the small Christian minority here. A very personal report by ORF Israel correspondent Tim Cupal.

Palm Sunday last year: the sun kept peeking through the clouds. Then the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock lights up briefly. A sea of green palm leaves billows over the faithful as they zigzag from the Mount of Olives through narrow alleyways down to the Lion's Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. Perhaps there are a thousand this time. Not as few as feared, but still far fewer than in previous years. "An Easter with the handbrake on," says Abbot Nicodemus Schnabel from the Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion.