Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had ordered authorities to grant the top Catholic Church representative in the Holy Land immediate access to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher after police blocked him on Sunday, prompting sharp criticism from global leaders.
– I have instructed the competent authorities to grant Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballi full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, Benjamin Netanyahu said this morning on X.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was stopped by Israeli police on Sunday as he went to a church in Jerusalem’s Old City to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, the Jerusalem Latin Patriarchate said, calling the incident a serious precedent.
Israeli police and Netanyahu justified the ban on access to holy sites in the Old City on security grounds related to the war in Iran.
European leaders immediately condemned the move.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas took to social media to condemn the violation of religious freedom after Israel prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
– The decision of the Israeli police to ban the Jerusalem Latin Patriarch from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Palm Sunday represents a violation of religious freedom and the long-standing protection that regulates holy places, she said.
Freedom of worship in Jerusalem must be fully guaranteed, without exception, for all faiths. The multi-religious character of Jerusalem must be protected, she added.
Cardinal Pizzaballa’s office said Sunday after the ban that it was the first time in centuries that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem had been denied access to the holy site on Palm Sunday, which marks Christ’s return to Jerusalem.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Sunday that he called Cardinal Pizzaballa to express his deep sorrow over the incident.
“I explained that the incident arose out of security concerns due to the continued threat of rocket attacks by the Iranian terrorist regime against the civilian population in Israel, following previous incidents in which Iranian rockets fell on the Old City of Jerusalem in recent days,” Herzog said.
(Vijesti.ba)
