The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has defended this Sunday the Police's actions in preventing the access of the head of the Catholic Church of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to participate in the Palm Sunday mass.
The incident has provoked a wave of reproaches abroad and has once again placed at the center of the debate the criticisms of the Israeli Executive for the limitations imposed on the celebrations and acts of other religious communities in Jerusalem.
In a note released by his office, Netanyahu maintains that the decision responded to security criteria linked to the war with Iran and has advanced that the Israeli Government is designing formulas so that the Christian community can experience Holy Week in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu has detailed that this reinforcement of security measures was adopted after Iran "attacked the holy sites with missiles", which is why "Israel has temporarily asked worshipers of all religions not to go to the holy sites of the Old City of Jerusalem to protect them".
Tehran, for its part, has flatly denied striking places of worship in Jerusalem and maintains that its military campaign is directed exclusively against Israeli and American military targets in the region.
The head of the Israeli Government has added that "due to special concern for his safety, the Jerusalem police prevented the Latin Patriarch from celebrating mass this morning" and has insisted that "there was no malice, but only concern for his safety and that of his entourage".
He has also stressed that, "however, given the sanctity of the week prior to Easter for Christians around the world, Israeli security services are drawing up a plan to allow religious leaders to attend worship at the holy site in the coming days."
Herzog qualifies what happened as an unfortunate incident
Meanwhile, Israel's President, Isaac Herzog, has telephoned the patriarch to express his "regret" over an "unfortunate incident".
"I clarified that the incident originated from security concerns due to the continuous threat of missile attacks by the Iranian terrorist regime against the civilian population in Israel, following previous incidents in which Iranian missiles fell in the Old City area of Jerusalem in recent days," he has pointed out.
Herzog has reiterated "the unwavering commitment of the State of Israel to freedom of religion for all faiths and to the maintenance of the status quo in Jerusalem's holy sites."