Amb. Huckabee: 'Difficult to understand or justify' decision

Police stop top Catholic figures from reaching Holy Sepulchre for Palm Sunday Mass

PM’s office promises solution after police bar Latin patriarch due to war, eliciting outrage; ‘There was no malicious intent, only concern for safety,’ says Netanyahu

Police officers on Sunday kept two top Catholic clergymen from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, sparking global anger.

According to a statement from both of their offices, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, were heading to the church privately, without a procession.

As criticism poured in from close allies, top Israeli leaders went into damage-control mode, insisting a plan would be crafted that would allow limited worship at the site.

Palm Sunday commemorates the day Jesus traditionally rode into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by cheering crowds bearing palm fronds, according to the New Testament. The day marks the start of Holy Week, which ends with Easter, this year on April 5.

“This incident is a grave precedent, and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem,” said the the Patriarchate and the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

The Catholic bodies said that they have “acted with full responsibility and, since the outset of the war, have complied with all imposed restrictions: public gatherings were cancelled, attendance was prohibited, and arrangements were made to broadcast the celebrations to hundreds of millions of faithful worldwide, who, during these days of Easter, turn their eyes to Jerusalem and to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”

Police said that they had told the clergymen on Saturday that their request to reach the Holy Sepulchre the next day was not approved.

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said Israel’s decision was “difficult to understand or justify.”

Responding to the controversy, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said a plan was being put together to allow Christian leaders to worship at the church.

“Over the past several days, Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles. In one strike, missile fragments crashed meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” Netanyahu’s office said on X. “As a result, Israel has temporarily asked worshipers from all faiths not to worship at the holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City to protect them.

“Today, out of special concern for his safety, Jerusalem police prevented the Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pizzaballa from holding mass this morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” the statement said. “Again, there was no malicious intent whatsoever, only concern for his safety and that of his party.

“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.”

The Foreign Ministry said that the police will meet with Pizzaballa to find solutions while ensuring safety.

Meanwhile, President Isaac Herzog called Pizzaballa to express his “great sorrow” and reaffirm Israel’s commitment to religious freedom and the status quo.

Since the start of the US-Israel war against Iran on February 28, Israeli authorities have, for security reasons, barred access to the Old City for everyone other than residents or shop owners. The restrictions extend to all holy sites, including the Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque and Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which have been closed since March 6. Gatherings in Jerusalem and many other places nationwide remain limited to 50 people, provided a shelter can be reached in time

“Since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion, and in accordance with directives issued by the Home Front Command, all holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem have been closed to worshipers, particularly locations that do not have standard protected spaces, in order to safeguard public safety and security,” the police said in a statement.

“The Patriarch’s request was reviewed yesterday, and it was clarified that it could not be approved for the reasons outlined above.”

Police said that the Old City and the holy sites in Jerusalem “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.”

It emphasized that “freedom of worship will continue to be upheld, subject to necessary restrictions.”

Earlier this month, a fragment of an intercepted Iranian missile impacted in Jerusalem’s Old City, around 400 meters from the Western Wall and Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount.

Days before that, missile fragments from intercepted Iranian missiles landed near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Patriarchate and Custos called the police decision “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,” they said, expressing their “profound sorrow to the Christian faithful in the Holy Land and throughout the world that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar has thus been prevented.”

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the incident “an offense not only to believers, but to every community that recognizes religious freedom.”

Italian Foreign Minister Antoni Tajani said on X that it was “unacceptable that they were prevented from entering.”

He said that he told the Italian ambassador in Israel to convey the government’s protest of the decision, and told Italy’s Foreign Ministry to summon Israeli envoy Jonathan Peled for “clarification.”

MK Ayman Odeh, chairman of the Hadash–Ta’al party, submitted an urgent inquiry about the incident to Defense Minister Israel Katz, “demanding immediate clarifications from the minister regarding the circumstances of the decision, the authority that issued it, and the legal basis on which it was made,” according to his office.

Most years, thousands of pilgrims join the procession from the Mount of Olives past the Garden of Gethsemane — where, according to biblical tradition, Jesus was betrayed — and then finally into the alleyways of the Old City.

Pizzaballa, a fluent Hebrew speaker, is the head of a diocese that includes Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. He was among the favorites to replace Pope Francis as the next pontiff when cardinals convened at the Vatican to pick a new pope last May.

The 60-year-old Franciscan, who has lived in Jerusalem since 1990, has striven to maintain good relations with both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities against the backdrop of the decades-long conflict.