Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday welcomed understandings reached in a meeting between the Israel Police and Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, following an uproar regarding Palm Sunday prayers in light of the war against Iran.
"I warmly welcome the understandings reached this morning between the commanders of the Israel Police in Jerusalem and the Latin Patriarch, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, during their meeting together with a representative of the Office of the President of Israel to settle arrangements for Easter prayers in the Old City of Jerusalem," Herzog said in a statement.
"I reiterate the unwavering commitment of the State of Israel to the freedom of worship for people of all faiths and the importance of upholding the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem.
"On behalf of the State of Israel, I extend my warmest wishes for the upcoming Easter holiday to the Latin Patriarch, to our Christian sisters and brothers in the Holy Land, and to our Christian friends across the Middle East and around the world."
In the Sunday morning incident, Israel Police prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after he attempted to reach the site in violation of wartime restrictions imposed under Home Front Command guidelines.
According to a statement by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land, Cardinal Pizzaballa, together with the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, was stopped en route while proceeding privately and "without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act," despite existing wartime restrictions barring access to holy sites, and was compelled to turn back.
The Patriarchate noted that, as a result, "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."
The statement described the incident as "a grave precedent," adding that it disregards “the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem."
Church leaders stated that they have complied with all restrictions since the outset of the war, including canceling public gatherings and arranging for broadcasts of services to the faithful worldwide.
"Preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos… constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure," the statement said, calling the decision "hasty and fundamentally flawed" and "an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the Status Quo."
The Patriarchate and the Custody of the Holy Land expressed "profound sorrow" to Christian faithful in the Holy Land and worldwide over the inability to hold prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar.
Israel’s Ambassador to Italy, Jonathan Peled, was summoned for a discussion at the Foreign Ministry in Rome following the incident.
The Prime Minister’s Office clarified that Iran has in recent days repeatedly targeted holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles, including an incident in which missile fragments fell meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
"As a result, Israel has temporarily asked worshippers from all faiths not to worship at the holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City to protect them," the statement said.
The statement added that police prevented Cardinal Pizzaballa from holding mass "out of special concern for his safety," emphasizing that there was "no malicious intent whatsoever."
It stressed that security authorities were working on a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the site for the upcoming Easter holiday.
Herzog himself called the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to express his great sorrow over the incident. He noted that the unfortunate incident stemmed from security concerns due to the continuous threat of missile attacks from the Iranian terror regime against the civilian population in Israel, following previous incidents of Iranian missiles that had fallen in the area of the Old City of Jerusalem in recent days.
President Herzog reaffirmed the State of Israel's unwavering commitment to freedom of religion for all faiths, as well as to upholding the status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem. President Herzog stressed the importance of enhancing future coordination with the Latin Patriarch.