Palm Sunday dispute: Israeli police prevent Latin patriarch from entering Holy Sepulchre for mass, sparking backlash

JERUSALEM—Israeli police barred the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, drawing widespread condemnation over Israel’s handling of the situation and sparking diplomatic shockwaves.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa planned to broadcast Palm Sunday mass this morning from the church at the heart of the Old City’s Christian Quarter. But Pizzaballa and the Custos of the Holy Land “were compelled to turn back” by police, the Latin Patriarchate said in a statement, calling it “a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.”

“As a result, and 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 statement said.

Since the war began, the churches have complied with restrictions, the statement continued, but had made arrangements for Palm Sunday “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.”

Israel Police argued that the request to open the church on Palm Sunday was denied in advance due to safety concerns. Police contend that “all holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem have been closed to worshippers, particularly locations that do not have standard protected spaces, in order to safeguard public safety and security.” 

But the damage was already done.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned Israel’s ambassador over the incident and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the move “constitutes an offense not only to believers, but to every community that recognizes religious freedom.”

A human rights lawyer in Israel said the Sunday morning incident underscores that restrictions are not enforced equally.

“The prevention of the Cardinal’s entry today indicates that the intention is not to protect the safety of worshippers, but rather to prevent Christians from accessing their holy sites – a practice that began several years ago with restrictions on the number of entrants to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during Easter and continues today,” Abeer Joubran told ALL ISRAEL NEWS.

She said restrictions imposed on Arab residents and Arab-owned stores in the Old City don’t apply to the Jewish Quarter.

“The police have prevented Arab residents who do not live in the Old City from entering it and have unlawfully closed Arab-owned stores there. In contrast, Israel allows prayers at the Western Wall with up to 50 worshippers, and prayers at Wilson's Arch near the Western Wall, as well as Jewish entry to the Jewish Quarter, have not been stopped, even though there are hardly any shelters there,” she said. “Moreover, to prevent monitoring of prayers at Wilson's Arch adjacent to the Western Wall, the online cameras have suddenly been ‘temporarily’ out of order for the past two weeks.”

Joubran urged the heads of the churches to contest “this discriminatory policy and demand that the State immediately open the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.” 

"Temporary shelters can be set up in the courtyards of schools in the Old City if the State is truly concerned about the safety of worshippers – even though there are no shelters for the residents of the Old City,” she argued. “We will wait to see whether these restrictions will be enforced on Jews during Passover or whether we will witness the same chaos that occurred during Purim.”

In Israel, Jews and Christians alike expressed outrage.

“According to everyone who deals with him, Cardinal Pizzaballa is an honest and decent person who takes care to maintain proper relations with the Israeli government,” Avi Mayer, founder of the Jerusalem Journal, wrote on 𝕏. “And even if he weren't such a person – that’s not how you treat a representative of the Catholic Church with its 1.4 billion believers.”

Attorney and activist Daniel Seidemann sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his policies, calling the incident “a wanton contempt of all that's holy.”

“Barring the most senior representative of Christendom from entering the Holy Sepulcher on Palm Sunday. In his downward spiral, Netanyahu is bringing Israel to a state of systemic collapse,” he wrote on 𝕏.

Some commenters noted that if the furniture mega-store IKEA can operate according to a regular schedule, then accommodations can be found for churches and holy sites. 

During Ramadan, Muslim nations condemned Israel’s closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock complex from the day the war started, Feb. 28, through the remainder of Ramadan, including Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month.

In the Old City, the Christian, Muslim and Armenian quarters are largely a ghost town while many shops in the Jewish Quarter remain open. Access to the Western Wall, though limited at first, has since been eased. In addition, a photo shows a mobile bomb shelter being installed next to Rachel’s Tomb to allow Jewish worshippers to pray at the site.

Around the world, Catholics and Protestants are celebrating Palm Sunday and marking the beginning of Holy Week. 

Orthodox Christians will celebrate Palm Sunday next week, followed by Easter on April 12. 

In its statement, the Israel Police said that the Old City and 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.”

Nevertheless, the Latin Patriarchate called the decision “hasty and fundamentally flawed,” saying that it “represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the Status Quo.”

On Sunday afternoon, Prime Minister Netanyahu released a statement saying that “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,” he added.