Church at Jesus's traditional burial site reopens after three-day protest

JERUSALEM: Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, seen by many as the holiest site in Christianity, reopened on Wednesday after a three-day closure to protest against Israeli tax measures and a proposed law.
The two men who act as keepers of the key of the church opened its large wooden doors at around 4:00am, ending the protest that began on Sunday at noon.
Shortly afterwards, a group of pilgrims arrived to visit the sacred site.
The church is built where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. Custody of it is shared by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations.
The closure — which seemed to be the longest since at least 1990 — had left thousands of pilgrims and tourists seeking to visit locked outside.
Christian leaders decided to reopen the church after Israel suspended tax measures that they strongly oppose.
A proposed law that Christian leaders say would allow Israel to expropriate church land is also to be shelved. — AFP