JERUSALEM: The Israeli prime minister’s office said that police blocked the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday mass out of “concern for his safety”.
“Today, out of special concern for his safety, Jerusalem police prevented the Latin Patriarch Cardinal (Pierbattista) Pizzaballa from holding mass this morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on X.
“Again, there was no malicious intent whatsoever, only concern for his safety and that of his party,” the PM’s office said.
However, Netanyahu’s office said that a plan was being put in place to ensure that Christian worshippers would be able to perform their rites during Holy Week.
“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,” it said.