Canadian prime minister 'disappointed' by Israel's barring of patriarch from Jerusalem church

Canada's prime minister expressed disappointment over Israel's decision to prevent the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem from marking Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

"These actions further violate the longstanding status quo of Jerusalem's Holy Sites," Mark Carney wrote Sunday on the US social media company X, adding that people of every faith in Jerusalem should be able to worship "freely, fully, and without fear."

Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and three priests from entering the church to offer a blessing on Sunday, the first time in centuries that church leaders were barred from marking Palm Sunday at one of Christianity's holiest sites. Israeli authorities cited security concerns stemming from Iranian retaliatory strikes targeting Jerusalem's Old City.

Carney said he was pleased that Israeli President Isaac Herzog had contacted Pizzaballa directly. Herzog confirmed he called the patriarch to express his "great sorrow" over the incident, reaffirming Israel's "unwavering commitment to freedom of religion for all faiths and to upholding the status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem."

As of last Friday, Israeli authorities continue to bar Muslims from Friday prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest mosque in Islam, for the fourth consecutive week, keeping the site closed since late February under emergency measures linked to the war with Iran.