Israeli police have blocked Catholic leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday mass "for the first time in centuries", church authorities in Jerusalem said.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Rev Francesco Ielpo were stopped outside the holy site on the first day of the most important period in the Christian calendar, their office said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said worshippers "from all faiths" had been asked not to attend sites in Jerusalem's Old City for safety reasons after recent Iranian attacks.
But the move has drawn strong international criticism, including from US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who said it was an "unfortunate overreach" that was "difficult to understand or justify".
Church authorities said in a statement that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Rev Francesco Ielpo had been "compelled" to turn back from the church - the holiest site in Christianity - on Sunday.
