World Bulletin / News Desk 

A Palestinian orthodox archbishop said Wednesday that Israeli security restrictions in Jerusalem – imposed for the Jewish Passover holidays – were "making life hell" for Christian pilgrims and Palestinian residents of the city.

"Many gates and streets in Jerusalem have been blocked in disregard for Christian, Easter pilgrims and residents who have the right to free movement throughout the holy city," Archbishop Attallah Hanna of Sebastia of Jerusalem's Orthodox Patriarchate, said in a Wednesday statement.

Hanna said Israeli forces had kept the Bab al-Khalil gate, the entrance to East Jerusalem's church complex in the Old City, closed for the most part since weeklong Jewish Passover festivities kicked off last Friday.

"The church rejects Israel's increasingly severe security restrictions, which are being imposed on unjustified security pretexts," the archbishop asserted.

Israeli security forces have been deployed in large numbers in occupied East Jerusalem, as thousands of Jews flock to the Old City for Passover celebrations.

Many gates and streets in Jerusalem have been blocked.