Herzog calls Latin Patriarch after police bar top Catholic figures from Holy Sepulchre amid missile threat

President Isaac Herzog calls Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa to express his “great sorrow” over the decision by Israeli police officers to prevent the cardinal and Custos of the Holy Land Fr. Francesco Ielpo from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Palm Sunday Mass.

“I clarified that the incident stemmed from security concerns due to the continuous threat of missile attacks from the Iranian terror regime against the civilian population in Israel, following previous incidents in which Iranian missiles fell in the area of the Old City of Jerusalem in recent days,” says Herzog.

“I reaffirmed the State of Israel’s unwavering commitment to freedom of religion for all faiths and to upholding the status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem.”