As Israel's relented 200 Christians from the besieged Gaza Strip from visiting holy sites in the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem for Christmas, the Palestinian Resistance Movement, Hamas denounced the ban, Anadolu news agency reported.
"The Zionist ban is a flagrant violation of the Christians' rights to practice their religious rites, depriving them of their basic right to access places of worship" the Movement said in a statement.
Hamas called on the United Nations, the international community and human rights institutions to assume their responsibility to stop the Occupation's violations against our Christian citizens, and the places of worship".
It also called for "punishing the Occupation authorities and its leaders for their crimes and violations of the most basic human rights guaranteed in accordance with divine laws and relevant international laws".
However, Kamel Ayad, Director of Public Relations at the Orthodox Church in Gaza, said that the Israeli authorities refused to give permits to 200 Christians from the Gaza Strip to travel to the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem to participate in Christmas celebrations" under the pretext of "security reasons".
He pointed out that all Christians in Gaza have the right to attend the Christmas celebrations in the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Tens of thousands of Christians from around the world arrive in East Jerusalem and other areas within the Occupied Palestinian Territories annually, to participate in the celebrations inside the most sacred religious sites for Christians in the world as Christains believe Jesus was born in the region.
About 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, out of a total population of nearly two million people, about 70 per cent of whom belong to the Greek Orthodox sect, while the rest belong to the Latin Catholic sect.
It is Pertinent to mention that Hamas was elected to power by the residents of Gaza in 2006 since then, the region is besieged with blockades by Israel and Egypt.