Israel reverses course after barring Palm Sunday Mass in Jerusalem

(CNN) — Following widespread backlash, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has asked “relevant authorities” early Monday to allow Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, to enter Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, and “hold services as he wishes.”

On Sunday, The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said Israeli police prevented the church’s senior leaders from entering to celebrate Mass, the first time this has happened in centuries.

“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 Patriarchate said in a statement on Sunday. “This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.”

Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week, the most sacred period in the Christian calendar, with Sunday’s liturgy commemorating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The church is believed to be the site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection.

The move comes as Israeli authorities restrict access to religious sites in East Jerusalem amid the war with Iran, including Al Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall, citing security concerns. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war, and has fought multiple wars since, but sweeping restrictions on access to holy sites – particularly during major religious periods – have been rare.

In his statement on X, Netanyahu said that “Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles” over the past days. He added that one strike crashed just “meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”

Israeli police also issued a statement confirming they have approved a limited prayer arrangement at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in coordination with a representative of the Latin Patriarch, following a situational assessment led by Jerusalem District Commander Deputy Commissioner Avshalom Peled and other senior officers. Authorities added that other major religious sites, including the Western Wall Plaza and the Temple Mount compound, remain closed to worshippers over public safety concerns.

The Italian government had criticized the police decision to bar access to the church and plans to summon the Israeli ambassador in Rome. The Patriarchate had already cancelled the traditional Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem due to the conflict, which has seen Iran fire thousands of projectiles toward Israel.

The two senior Church officials, including Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, “were stopped en route, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and were compelled to turn back,” the Patriarchate said.

Preventing their entry “constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure,” it added.

The Patriarchate also accused the Israeli authorities of a “hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations.”

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was “no malicious intent whatsoever” in the ban, only concern for the safety of the celebrants.

“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,” Netanyahu’s office added.

Israeli Police said that all holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem had been “closed to worshippers, particularly locations that do not have standard protected spaces, in order to safeguard public safety and security.”

“The Old City and the holy sites constitute a complex area that does not allow access for large emergency and rescue vehicles,” the police said in a statement.

The number of Jews allowed to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem has been limited to 50 a day, while Muslims have been completely barred from accessing Al Aqsa Mosque since the war started in late February, including the entire holy month of Ramadan.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a known Israel supporter, released a statement on X criticizing the Israeli decision, calling it “an unfortunate overreach already having major repercussions around the world.” He noted that churches, synagogues, and mosques throughout Jerusalem “have met with the restrictions of 50 or less” for safety reasons. “For the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or justify,” he said.

Italy decries ‘insult’ to religious freedom

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her government stood with Cardinal Pizzaballa and other religious leaders.

“The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is a sacred place of Christianity, and as such must be preserved and protected,” Meloni added. Preventing church leaders from entering the church “constitutes an insult not only to believers, but to every community that recognizes religious freedom,” Meloni said.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on X that the ban was unacceptable. He had instructed the Italian ambassador in Israel to protest to the government and would summon the Israeli ambassador in Rome on Monday.

During Mass at the Vatican Sunday, Pope Leo said that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have “hands full of blood.” He also said that his prayers are “more than ever with the Christians of the Middle East, who are suffering the consequences of a brutal conflict and, in many cases, are unable to observe fully the liturgies of these holy days.”

Addressing tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday, ​the celebration that opens the holy week leading up to Easter for the world’s ​1.4 billion Catholics, the pontiff called the conflict “atrocious” and said Jesus cannot be ⁠used to justify any wars.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey condemned Israel’s continued closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem to Muslim worshippers.

The eight Muslim states said that discriminatory and arbitrary limits on access to places of worship amounted to a “flagrant violation” of international law.

CNN’s Abeer Salman and Eugenia Yosef contributed reporting.

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