European leaders on Sunday condemned Israel’s decision to prevent the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, calling it a violation of religious freedom and the status of holy sites.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the move was an "offense" to religious freedom.
"Preventing the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custodian of the Holy Land from entering, especially on a solemnity as central to the faith as Palm Sunday, constitutes an offense not only to believers, but to every community that recognizes religious freedom," Meloni said in a statement issued by the government.
The Italian government expressed its "closeness" to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pizzaballa, who was denied entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, preventing him from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass.
"The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is a sacred place of Christianity, and as such it must be preserved and protected for the celebration of sacred rites," Meloni's statement added.
Israeli police prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from marking Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre "for the first time in centuries," the Patriarchate said, with police citing security concerns linked to the Iran war.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Friar Francesco Ielpo were stopped by police while walking to the church, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said.
"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," it said in a statement.
Israeli police said all holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City - including those sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews - had been closed to worshippers since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, particularly locations without bomb shelters.
Police said they had rejected a request from the Patriarchate for a Palm Sunday exemption.
But French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned Israel's decision.
"I condemn this decision by the Israeli police, which adds to the worrying increase in violations of the status of Jerusalem's Holy Sites," Macron wrote on the X.
Voicing his support for the patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Macron also said: "The free exercise of worship in Jerusalem must be guaranteed for all religions."
In a statement, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said Pizzaballa, along with the custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo, was stopped while heading privately to the church and "compelled to turn back."
The patriarchate said the incident marked the first time in centuries that church leaders were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, at the Holy Sepulchre, one of the most sacred of Christian sites.
Meanwhile, Portugal said the move deserves “deep condemnation.”
"The obstruction of access for Cardinal Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the Palm Sunday celebrations, which were only to be broadcast, deserves deep condemnation," the Portuguese Foreign Ministry said on X.
The ministry said Israeli authorities, who blocked his entry, are "urged to guarantee and uphold freedom of religion and worship."
