RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and a number of Arab and Islamic countries have condemned Israel’s restriction on freedom of worship in Jerusalem, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Türkiye, Qatar, and the UAE condemned, in the strongest terms, and rejected the continued restrictions imposed by Israel on the freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians in occupied Jerusalem. The restrictions include the prevention of Muslim worshippers from accessing Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and the prevention of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass.
The move sparked an international outcry that led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reverse the ban for the remainder of Holy Week.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Friar Francesco Ielpo from entering the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. The police cited security concerns related to the war in Iran for the ban.
“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,” it said in a statement.
