Israeli police block Catholic cardinal from Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday

Since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran, Israel has closed holy sites in Jerusalem, citing safety concerns.

Israeli police have prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to mark Palm Sunday Mass.

The Catholic Church said on Sunday that Pizzaballa and Francesco lelpo, the official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, were both prevented from entering the church.

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“As a result, and for the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” the statement said.

“This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world, who, during this week, look to Jerusalem,” it added.

Israeli police said all holy sites in Jerusalem were closed due to safety concerns amid the United States and Israel’s war on Iran. During the Muslim month of Ramadan, which also coincided with the war, Al-Aqsa Mosque was also closed to worshippers.

In a statement to the AFP news agency, Israeli police said Pizzaballa’s request to deliver the Catholic mass to mark Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Christian Holy Week that ends with Easter, could not be approved.

“The Old City and the holy sites constitute a complex area that does not allow access for large emergency and rescue vehicles, which significantly challenges response capabilities and poses a real risk to human life in the event of a mass casualty incident,” the force said.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X that the blocking of Pizzaballa was out of “special concern for his safety” as holy sites in Jerusalem had been “repeatedly targeted” by Iran.

“There was no malicious intent whatsoever, only concern for his safety and that of his party,” the post read.

“However, given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days,” it added.

While the Catholic Church had already announced it had cancelled the traditional Palm Sunday procession, in a statement, it said Israel’s actions to ban Pizzaballa and Ielpo were a “manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure”.

“This hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the status quo,” it said.

But the prevention also caused condemnation.

But US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, called the incident an “unfortunate overreach already having major repercussions around the world.”

“Home Front Command Guidelines restrict any gatherings to 50 people or less. The 4 representatives of the Catholic Church were well below that restriction. Statements from the Gov’t of Israel indicate the action to prohibit Cardinal Pizzaballa entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were for safety reasons, but churches, synagogues, and mosques throughout Jerusalem have met with the restrictions of 50 or less,” Huckabee wrote on X.

“For the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or justify. Israel has indicated it will work with the Patriarch to accommodate a safe means of carrying out Holy Week activities,” it added.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the incident was “an offence not only to the faithful, but to any community that respects religious freedom”.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also said in a post on X that he had summoned Israel’s ambassador over the incident.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the decision and said worship “for all religions” must be guaranteed in Jerusalem.