Israeli police block Catholic cardinal from Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday

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

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised the police action, saying that denying entry to religious leaders "constitutes an offence not only to believers, but for every community that recognises religious freedom."

The Israeli police prevented Catholic leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Mass on Palm Sunday.

The Israeli police prevented Catholic leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Mass on Palm Sunday.

The Israeli police prevented Catholic leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Mass on the Christian holiday of Palm Sunday for the first time in centuries, the Latin Patria

The two top Christian officials in the area were stopped by police from entering the church, a joint statement said.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic figure in Jerusalem, was barred from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday mass, according to his office, in what Italy's…