Member of Knesset Ayman Odeh, chair of the Hadash-Ta'al party list, filed an urgent parliamentary query Sunday to the defense minister following the barring of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in order to conduct the Palm Sunday ceremony – the opening of the Catholic Easter season.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni responded to the incident, saying, "Barring the Patriarch of Jerusalem and Custodian of the Holy Land from entering, and especially on a holy day as central to the faith as Palm Sunday, harms not only the believers but every community that recognizes freedom of religion."
The query noted that the Patriarchate had confirmed the visit was coordinated in advance with the authorities, and that the ceremony was planned to take place without a public audience.
MK Odeh stressed that the move constituted a serious violation of freedom of worship and a breach of the status quo at Jerusalem's holy sites, and demanded that the minister provide immediate clarification regarding the circumstances of the decision, who issued it, and the legal basis on which it rested.
Odeh added that the Israeli government was exploiting the war to impose a new political reality in east Jerusalem and at the holy sites, and stressed the need to guarantee freedom of access to all holy sites for members of all religions, and to prevent policies that harm religious rights and inflame tensions in the city, especially in such sensitive times.
MK Gilad Kariv, chair of the Knesset Immigration, Integration and Diaspora Affairs Committee, responded, calling the act "perfect foolishness and tone-deafness, reflecting the conduct of the Jerusalem Police across a long series of events."
"How long will the Israeli government leave the most sensitive issues in the hands of people who are incapable? How long will a group of reckless individuals hand out free gifts to our worst enemies around the world?
"I call on the President's Residence and the Foreign Ministry director-general to intervene immediately in the incident and to arrange freedom of access and worship for the Christian churches in Jerusalem during the Easter holiday period, in accordance with Home Front Command guidelines, but with maximum sensitivity and utmost respect."
