Since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran, Israel has closed holy sites in Jerusalem, citing safety concerns. Published On 29 Mar 202629 Mar 2026Israeli police have prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to mark Palm Sunday Mass.The Catholic Church said on Sunday that Pizzaballa and Francesco lelpo, the official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, were both prevented from entering the church.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“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,” the statement said.“This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world, who, during this week, look to Jerusalem,” it added.Israeli police said all holy sites in Jerusalem were closed due to safety concerns amid the United States and Israel’s war on Iran. During the Muslim month of Ramadan, which also coincided with the war, Al-Aqsa Mosque was also closed to worshippers. Issa Kassissieh, a Palestinian Christian who is popular for being the Santa Claus of the city, holds a cross and a palm frond while standing at the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after finding them locked, following the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives, amid restrictions on group gatherings and the US-Israeli war on Iran, in Jerusalem’s Old City on March 29, 2026 [Ammar Awad/Reuters]In a statement to the AFP news agency, Israeli police said Pizzaballa’s request to deliver the Catholic mass to mark Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Christian Holy Week that ends with Easter, could not be approved. Advertisement “The Old City and the holy sites constitute a complex area that does not all …
