RAMALLAH, March 29, 2026 (WAFA) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates strongly condemned the Israeli occupation authorities' prevention of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ilbo, from accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied Jerusalem to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.
In a statement, the Ministry considered this move a dangerous precedent that infringes upon freedom of worship and targets the authentic Christian presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.
It emphasized that this arbitrary ban, unprecedented in centuries for church leaders, constitutes a crime, an illegal military measure, and a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them freedom of worship.
The Ministry added that the decision disregards the feelings of hundreds of millions around the world and offends the sentiments of Christians and Muslims who share the sanctity of Jerusalem and its religious and historical significance. It also constitutes a violation of the existing legal and historical status quo.
It warned of the gravity of this precedent, which reflects an escalating approach in occupied Jerusalem aimed at displacing our people and Judaizing the city, threatening to deprive believers of practicing their religious rites, even on the holiest of occasions.
The Ministry called upon the international community and its institutions to take immediate and practical steps to halt this crime and put an end to the escalating policies in Jerusalem, including pressuring the occupying government and intensifying the international presence on the ground to preserve the Palestinian Christian presence and guarantee freedom of worship and access to holy sites.
It also called for providing international protection for the Palestinian people and their Islamic and Christian holy sites, in light of the ongoing, systematic, and widespread Israeli attacks and violations.
K.T
