{"id":42164,"date":"2026-03-30T03:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T03:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/42164\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T03:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T03:00:19","slug":"israel-reverses-course-after-barring-palm-sunday-mass-in-jerusalem-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/42164\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel reverses course after barring Palm Sunday Mass in Jerusalem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following widespread backlash, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has asked \u201crelevant authorities\u201d early Monday to allow Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, to enter Jerusalem\u2019s<\/a> Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, and \u201chold services as he wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday, The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said Israeli police prevented the church\u2019s senior leaders from entering to celebrate Mass, the first time this has happened in centuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 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,\u201d the Patriarchate said in a statement on Sunday. \u201cThis incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week, the most sacred period in the Christian calendar, with Sunday\u2019s liturgy commemorating Jesus\u2019 entry into Jerusalem. The church is believed to be the site of Jesus\u2019 burial and resurrection.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 particularly during major religious periods \u2013 have been rare.<\/p>\n

In his statement on X, Netanyahu said that \u201cIran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles\u201d over the past days. He added that one strike crashed just \u201cmeters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The two senior Church officials, including Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, \u201cwere stopped en route, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and were compelled to turn back,\u201d the Patriarchate said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Altar<\/p>\n

Altar servers start the Palm Sunday Mass Procession, commemorating Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, at the Catholic Franciscan Monastery of Saint Saviour in the old city of Jerusalem on March 29. – John Wessels\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Preventing their entry \u201cconstitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

The Patriarchate also accused the Israeli authorities of a \u201chasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was \u201cno malicious intent whatsoever\u201d in the ban, only concern for the safety of the celebrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world\u2019s Christians, Israel\u2019s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days,\u201d Netanyahu\u2019s office added.<\/p>\n

Israeli Police said that all holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem had been \u201cclosed to worshippers, particularly locations that do not have standard protected spaces, in order to safeguard public safety and security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Old City and the holy sites constitute a complex area that does not allow access for large emergency and rescue vehicles,\u201d the police said in a statement.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a known Israel supporter, released a statement on X criticizing the Israeli decision, calling it \u201can unfortunate overreach already having major repercussions around the world.\u201d He noted that churches, synagogues, and mosques throughout Jerusalem \u201chave met with the restrictions of 50 or less\u201d for safety reasons. \u201cFor the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or justify,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Italy decries \u2018insult\u2019 to religious freedom<\/p>\n

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her government stood with Cardinal Pizzaballa and other religious leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is a sacred place of Christianity, and as such must be preserved and protected,\u201d Meloni added. Preventing church leaders from entering the church \u201cconstitutes an insult not only to believers, but to every community that recognizes religious freedom,\u201d Meloni said.<\/p>\n

\"Latin<\/p>\n

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, leads a prayer service to mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem on March 29, following the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives amid restrictions on gathering in large groups and the US-Israeli war on Iran. – Ammar Awad\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on X<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

During Mass at the Vatican Sunday, Pope Leo<\/a> said that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have \u201chands full of blood.\u201d He also said that his prayers are \u201cmore 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing tens of thousands in St. Peter\u2019s Square on Palm Sunday, \u200bthe celebration that opens the holy week leading up to Easter for the world\u2019s \u200b1.4 billion Catholics, the pontiff called the conflict \u201catrocious\u201d and said Jesus cannot be \u2060used to justify any wars.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey condemned Israel\u2019s continued closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem to Muslim worshippers.<\/p>\n

The eight Muslim states said that discriminatory and arbitrary limits on access to places of worship amounted to a \u201cflagrant violation\u201d of international law.<\/p>\n

CNN\u2019s Abeer Salman and Eugenia Yosef contributed reporting.<\/p>\n

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following widespread backlash, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has asked \u201crelevant authorities\u201d early Monday to allow…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42165,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[41,17696,17914,37,14176,17886,4038,1189,17885,17470,17882],"class_list":{"0":"post-42164","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-benjamin-netanyahu","9":"tag-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre","10":"tag-east-jerusalem","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-israeli-authorities","13":"tag-israeli-police","14":"tag-israeli-prime-minister","15":"tag-jerusalem","16":"tag-latin-patriarchate","17":"tag-palm-sunday","18":"tag-pierbattista-pizzaballa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116315896083072097","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}