Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered authorities to grant the Latin Patriarch full and immediate access to Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre after a Palm Sunday incident.
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered full and immediate access for the Latin Patriarch to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This directive follows an incident where Israeli police prevented the senior Catholic cleric from entering the sacred site on Palm Sunday.
Netanyahu announced the instruction on social media platform X. “I have instructed the relevant authorities that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, be granted full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem,” he wrote.
The initial denial of entry, which prevented the celebration of Palm Sunday mass, was attributed to security concerns. The move prompted protests from the European Union and several European nations.
Netanyahu elaborated on the security rationale in his post. He cited recent ballistic missile attacks by Iran targeting holy sites in Jerusalem belonging to all three monotheistic religions.
“In one strike, missile fragments crashed meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” Netanyahu stated. He explained that Israel had asked people of all faiths to temporarily refrain from worshipping at Old City holy sites to protect worshippers.