Israeli Police prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, together with the custos of the Holy Land, the Most Rev. Fr Francesco Ielpo, the official guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from entering the church in Jerusalem, as they made their way to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass. “The two were stopped en route, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and were compelled to turn back,” said a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody Of The Holy Land. 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, even while other churches in the surrounding area remained open. The statement described the incident as “a grave precedent,” one that disregards “the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.” Since the outset of the war, the heads of churches have complied with all imposed restrictions: public gatherings were cancelled, attendance was prohibited, and arrangements were made to broadcast the celebrations to hundreds of millions of faithful worldwide, who turn their eyes to Jerusalem and to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Preventing the entry of the Pizzaballa and Ielpo “constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure,” reads the statement. “This hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the Status Quo.” Pope Leo XIV on 29 March rejected claims that God justifies war and prayed especially for Christians in the Middle East during a Palm Sunday Mass before tens of thousands of people in St Peter’s Square. Access increasingly blockedThe complete closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre comes as religious sites have been increasingly blocked in Jerusalem. Amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, for the first time ever, a missile struck meters away from Jerusalem’s Old City on 20 March. The missile fell adjacent to the city's ancient wall, causing property damage in the Armenian Quarter, near the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram Al-Sharief compound and the Western Wall. It remains unclear who fired the missile. Jerusalem's Old City is increasingly vulnerable to actions that might damage the city's unique religious and historical sites that are significant to followers of the three monotheistic religions. Churches and communities across the world have been calling for the war to stop immediately, and for the resolution of disputes through dialogue. As the war goes on, religious and historical sites in the area become more and more vulnerable. Previous missile shrapnel on 16 March landed on the rooftop of the Holy Sepulchre Church. Religious sites in Jerusalem remain closed due to the war. But closure of the Holy Sepulchre and Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram Al-Sharief, as per the Status Quo, is in the hands of religious authorities, not the police. It has always been the case throughout history that the religious sites were administered by the religious authorities, not by the government or administrative agencies in Jerusalem, who have no mandate to close the holy sites. His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem and the heads of other churches in Jerusalem convened an emergency session urging Israeli authorities to fully reopen the Holy Sepulchre for Holy Week and Paschal celebrations. The Council of Heads of Churches, meeting under Patriarch Theophilos, sent a letter to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and foreign minister Gideon Saar after reports suggested only 50 people would be allowed inside for the Holy Fire ceremony on Holy Saturday. Church officials, including the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, voiced serious concerns over the restrictions. The church has been closed to parishioners and pilgrims since hostilities with Iran began, though clergy continue services inside. The letter stresses that celebrations should proceed normally and requests an official response, as uncertainty is causing anxiety among Christians worldwide. As of 23 March, the Holy Sepulchre and Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram Al-Sharief compound remained closed, which is unprecedented. The Western Wall is closed also, but it is not governed by the Status Quo. On 22 March, the Latin Church announced cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage on Mount of Olives to Jerusalem due to the security situation- a sad reality caused by the ongoing war. “For local Christians, the pain of restricted access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is not new, nor is it limited to times of war. Even during Easter—the heart of the Christian faith—many faithful are unable to enter and worship, a reality that deeply wounds the living Christian community of the Holy Land. For more than ten years, I myself have been unable to bring my children to celebrate the Holy Fire Saturday in Jerusalem. They have been deprived of experiencing the Easter celebrations as we once did in our own childhood,” said Deacon Bassem Thabet, Jerusalemite Christian leader, director of Operations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, and acting chairperson of the Central Committee of the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees. Haj Azzam Al-Khatib, general director of the Islamic Awqaf in Jerusalem said: “I want to see freedom of worship in Jerusalem protected. We have safe places in Al-Aqsa Mosque under the ground where worshipers can take refuge should the need arise.” | 
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