By Sadiq Abdulfatah

First time in Centuries, Israeli police have prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Francesco lelpo, the official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to mark Palm Sunday Mass.

According to a statement, this incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem. 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.

The statement added that 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, adding that plans are being made to enable church leaders to worship safely in the coming days.

The Catholic Church had already cancelled the traditional Palm Sunday procession, saying Israel’s actions were a “manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure” and “a departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the status quo.”

US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, called the incident an “unfortunate overreach,” noting that the gathering would have been within the allowed limit and that preventing the Patriarch from entry for a private ceremony was difficult to justify, while adding that Israel had indicated it would work on a safer arrangement.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the move as an offence to religious communities, while Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had summoned Israel’s ambassador. French President Emmanuel Macron said freedom of worship must be guaranteed for all religions in Jerusalem, while EU diplomat Kaja Kallas called it a violation of religious freedom. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the action as unjustified and urged respect for religious diversity and international law.

Source: Al Jazeera