Israel Blocks Worship, Jerusalem Christians Urge World Church Leaders to Act

The Holy Sepulcher Church complex or the Holy Sepulcher Basilica in the Old City of Jerusalem in March 2010. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Jerusalem Christians urge world church leaders to oppose the Israeli occupation government going beyond its authority to hinder worship at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

This demand followed Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem who was about to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, was barred from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

For weeks since Israel and the US attacked Iran on February 28, most of the Old City of Jerusalem has been unilaterally closed by the Israeli occupation government.

Israeli security forces were on alert at many points at the gates restricting access to Christian and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.

The Al Aqsa Mosque was also closed unilaterally. Muslims cannot access the holy place of worship, even when most of them are from Ramadan to Eid al-Fitr 2026.

Muslims are prohibited from performing Friday prayers, tarawih, and Eid al-Fitr prayers in 2026 inside the Al Aqsa Mosque complex, so they are forced to pray in the streets around the Old City.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem in 2017. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Israeli police argued that the ban on entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Al Aqsa Mosque was to secure the two religious sites from potential Iranian attacks.

However, according to a report by the Middle East Eye media team on Wednesday, April 1, Palestinians living in Jerusalem believe that the restrictions are actually to confirm that Israel can tighten control over the occupied Old City.

One of them, a local Catholic shop owner who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of his safety, said that Pizzaballa - a figure who is highly respected and respected internationally within the Catholic Church - should have confronted the soldiers who stopped him from entering the church rather than obediently agreeing to turn around.

"He should have found another way," the source told the team. "If necessary, he should have prayed on the street," he continued.

After being denied entry to the church, Pizzaballa instead led a service at the Church of All Nations, on the Mount of Olives outside the Old City walls.

The source said the Italian priest had acted wrongly by allowing the church to get involved in negotiations on holy sites with Israeli authorities.

Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967 and has been deemed illegal under international law, as confirmed by the International Court of Justice in 2024.

"By negotiating, you acknowledge Israel's authority," the source said.

He added that the church's obedient communication with the occupation authorities has allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to emerge as a hero and present himself as a "saviour".

On Sunday evening, Netanyahu then announced that he had instructed Israeli authorities to give Pizzaballa "full and immediate access" to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Israeli police also said they had coordinated with relevant church officials to lift the blockade so that the Easter celebrations could take place.

The Al Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. (Unsplash-Philippe Collard)

Colonialism in Old Jerusalem

In the eyes of Palestinian Christians, there is no reason to thank the Israeli occupation government for only allowing a portion of Christians to access the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

For Israel, preventing non-Jewish worshipers from performing worship at holy sites in Jerusalem can be done at any time without prior notice.

During Easter Week, when Christians commemorate the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the refusal to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is considered an act of insulting colonial arrogance.

According to the opinion of many Christians in Jerusalem, religious authorities - whether Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian, or from other denominations - have long been too subservient to Israel.

Critics accuse church officials of being more interested in the status and privileges granted by Israel than serving their congregations.

"The church is older than the state and the empire. When I was a child, my father would take time off to go to the Old City to enjoy the tradition. Now who really wants to come to the Old City to be harassed by the Israeli police?" added the source.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Israeli-occupied Jerusalem area. (Wikimedia Commons)

Middle East Eye's team then interviewed other sources in the alleys of Jerusalem's Old City. Because Israeli security forces continue to monitor, those who agreed to speak, were reluctant to mention names or identities.

Including a woman carrying her shopping to go home. "Look around," he told the team, pointing to the empty streets.

"There is no celebration. At times like this, the city should be crowded. They kill every sense of joy," he continued.

Many people here share their grief and despair. They are annoyed at the reasons given by the Israeli occupation authorities because they can close holy places in Jerusalem at any time, which violate the right to freedom of worship and intimidate almost every day.

When the team entered the Damascus Gate, a Palestinian youth was being searched by an Israeli soldier.

Israeli forces are also constantly present and disruptive around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - in flagrant defiance of the long-standing "status quo" agreement that is supposed to hand control of the church to Christians.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre complex on August 8, 2008 in the Old City of Jerusalem, which is occupied by Israel. (Wikimedia Commons)

Separately, the International Justice Center for Palestine (ICJP) has warned that "the refusal of the entry of the official guards of the holy site is a blatant act of religious persecution, which reflects a violation of the authority of the Jerusalem Waqf, the custodian of Al-Aqsa."

Along with the criticism also expressed by many Palestinians, ICJP accused Israel of applying a double standard. The Israeli occupation authorities "allowed Jewish Purim celebrations to take place elsewhere in the city" at the beginning of the Iran war, even when Israel was already being bombarded by Iranian missiles.

ICJP noted that "Israeli media have reported drunk young people dancing in the streets in costumes, surrounding a vehicle playing loud music, to celebrate Purim. Apart from that, the targeting [of worship] of Palestinian Christians and Muslims continues."

The Middle East Eye team was at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but the door was closed from a distance. When the team approached, the Israeli security forces drove them away.

Above the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre hangs an Israeli security flag - for Palestinians, a sign of illegal foreign occupation.

For them, blocking the worship of the congregation is a cruel act of domination, not - as Israel claims - a sincere concern for the safety of Christians.