Eight Arab and Muslim countries have condemned Israeli restrictions on access to holy sites for Muslim and Christian worshippers after prayers for Palm Sunday, Eid and Ramadan were denied.
The UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Indonesia and Pakistan “condemned in the strongest terms, and reject the continued restrictions imposed by Israel on the freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians in occupied Jerusalem”, in a joint statement.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, alongside the Custos of the Holy Land, Francesco Ielpo, were barred from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday, despite having co-ordinated their visit with authorities.
“This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem,” the two Catholic officials said in a statement after the incident.
This is the first time in centuries Palm Sunday Mass has not been celebrated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Israel had also closed off Al Aqsa Mosque for the first time in 60 years on Eid Al Fitr. Worshippers willing to enter the compound were pushed back with stun grenades and beaten by the Israeli police.
The joint statement published by the foreign ministries on Monday criticised the prevention of Muslim worshippers from accessing important holy sites, as well as the Palm Sunday actions, calling the moves “a flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, as well as of the existing legal and historical status quo”, adding that they “represent an infringement on the unrestricted right of access to places of worship”.
The status quo refers to an 18th century Ottoman framework prohibiting unilateral alterations to holy sites in Jerusalem, primarily the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Al Aqsa Mosque and its compound have been bitterly contested throughout the Israel-Palestine conflict. The area is supposed to be overseen by the Waqf, a Jordanian organisation that maintains the site under an agreement that limits the non-Muslim presence.
Israel’s main ally, the United States, said it had “raised concerns to Israel with respect to these holy sites being shut down”, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Sunday released a statement saying that Cardinal Pizzaballa was blocked “out of special concern for his safety”.
