Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, holding a relic of the Holy Cross in the Basilica of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives, said: 'This Holy Land weeps, still unable to recognize the gift of peace.' In the brief ceremony, limited to the press due to wartime restrictions, he was accompanied by more than thirty people, including attendees and altar servers. Hours earlier, Israeli Police had prevented Pizzaballa and the Custodian of the Holy Land, Francesco Ielpo, from holding a mass without a public in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, an unprecedented event, citing alleged security concerns due to the war with Iran. 'This Palm Sunday afternoon we gather without a procession, without palms waving in the streets. It is war that has interrupted our festive path, even making it difficult for the simple joy of following our King,' the cardinal continued. In his homily, the religious figure spoke of how Jesus's love and faithfulness never wavered, even while on the cross, and recalled that this teaches us that 'true power does not reside in violence or in the sword that kills, but in a life freely given.' 'Brothers and sisters, in this land that continues to await peace, we are called to be witnesses to a love that never surrenders,' he concluded. Netanyahu justifies the Israeli police. Regarding the cardinal's ban from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after stated that there was 'no malicious intent,' but that the measure was for his own security. However, EFE was able to confirm that there was at least another mass this Sunday, with over a hundred people, at the Church of the Redeemer, also in the occupied Old City of East Jerusalem, without the Israeli authorities prohibiting it. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that he will summon the Israeli ambassador this Monday following this incident, condemned by the Italian government as 'an offense.' US criticizes Israel for blocking the Latin patriarch. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, considered that the Israeli police went too far in preventing the Latin Patriarch, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate the Palm Sunday mass. 'The decision taken today by the Israel National Police to prevent the Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and three other priests from entering the church to impart a blessing on Palm Sunday constitutes an unfortunate overreach that is already having significant repercussions worldwide,' Huckabee said in a statement published on X. The ambassador points out that while the holy sites in the Old City remain closed for security reasons—the reason cited by Benjamin Netanyahu's office to block Pizzaballa's passage—the restrictions are for crowds, which was not the case. 'It is difficult to understand or justify that the Patriarch be denied entry into the church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony,' laments the diplomat, who generally supports Israel's point of view. The highest Catholic authority in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, blessed and prayed for Jerusalem after Israeli Police did not allow him to celebrate a mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Palm Sunday. 'Today Jesus weeps once more for Jerusalem. He weeps for this Holy Land, which remains a sign of hope and pain, of grace and suffering. This absence is not a mere formality.'
