Israel has an obligation to tackle the harassment of the Christian minority in Jerusalem, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has warned Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mr Martin also called on the Palestinian Authority to ensure that the rights of Christians are protected in the West Bank.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs called on Mr Netanyahu to “preserve the status quo of the holy sites” in Jerusalem, which include sites sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims, during a diplomatic visit to Jerusalem this week.

His comments come at a time of increased tensions in the Holy Land, with a spike of anti-Christian harassment in Jerusalem.

Christian residents and pilgrims have reported being verbally abused and spat on, with priests, religious and laity targeted, sometimes by Jewish extremists.

Earlier this year, the head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land warned that “the frequency of these attacks, the aggressions, has become something new”.