Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Reverend Francesco Ielpo from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday.
In a press statement, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) condemned the Israeli occupation authorities' prevention of Palestinian Christians from holding Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied Jerusalem. Hamas considered this a dangerous precedent, the first of its kind in centuries, and a manifestation of the policy of Judaizing the holy city and targeting its Islamic and Christian identity. The movement called on churches worldwide to condemn what it described as the occupation's attacks on freedom of worship, and demanded that the international community intervene urgently and impose serious measures to stop the ongoing violations against the Palestinian people and their holy sites in Jerusalem.
The Church condemned the decision as an unprecedented violation of religious freedom, noting that it was āthe first time in centuriesā a Latin Patriarch had been denied access on Palm Sunday. Church officials called the move an āextreme departureā from principles of worship and reasonableness, insisting they had adhered to all wartime restrictions.
The incident sparked widespread international criticism. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called it an āunfortunate overreach,ā while Italian leaders labeled it an offence against religious freedom and summoned Israel's ambassador for clarification. French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed concern over increasing violations of the Holy Placesā status, and Pope Leo XIV voiced sympathy for Middle Eastern Christians unable to observe their rituals amid conflict. Netanyahu maintained that the measure was temporary and purely protective, with plans underway to allow limited access for worship in the coming days.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday condemned Israelās decision to prevent the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, one ā¦
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