Khaberni - The director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media, Father Rifat Badr, confirmed on Sunday that Jordan, led by His Majesty King Abdullah II, holds the custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, emphasizing that the Israeli occupation authorities' prevention of conducting the Palm Sunday Mass is a new, reprehensible, and condemnable act.
Badr added in statements to "Al Mamlaka" channel that worship is a human right, and no one should be prevented from it under any pretext, explaining that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is being closed for the first time in history.
Badr noted that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Custos of the Holy Land Francesco Patton wanted to celebrate peacefully, but they were prevented from doing so, describing this Israeli measure as blatant interference.
Badr reminded that Israel had closed the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan and prevented worshippers from performing the Eid al-Fitr prayer, adding that today the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is being closed to worshippers under the pretext of maintaining public safety, while the truth is the imposition of dominance over the Islamic and Christian holy sites.
Regarding the claims of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his justification for the closure decision on the pretext of protecting people, Badr said that the Israeli Prime Minister had insulted Jesus Christ a few days ago when he stated that Christ had no superiority over Genghis Khan, affirming that Netanyahu does not want to preserve Islam, Christianity, and the Arab presence in Jerusalem.
Badr pointed out that international condemnations have followed, including positions from Jordan, Italy, France, and several countries, protesting against preventing high-ranking church figures, among them Jerusalem’s Patriarch Cardinal Pizzaballa, one of the Pope's aides in the Vatican, from reaching the church and conducting the rituals.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Affairs condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli occupation authorities' prevention of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and holding the Palm Sunday Mass, considering it a blatant breach of international law and humanitarian international law, the legal and historical status quo, and a violation of unrestricted access to places of worship.
The spokesperson for the ministry, Ambassador Fouad Al-Majali, affirmed the kingdom's condemnation and absolute rejection of the illegal Israeli restrictive measures against Christians, preventing them from free access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to perform their religious rituals, and the necessity to respect the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites, affirming that Israel, as the occupying power, has no sovereignty over Jerusalem, and the need to stop all measures that hinder worshippers from accessing their places of worship.
Majali renewed the kingdom's condemnation of Israel’s continuous closure of the gates of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Haram al-Sharif in front of worshippers, restricting freedom of worship, as a blatant violation of international law, the legal and historical status quo, and its obligations as the occupying power, warning of the dangers of continuing this.
Majali called on the international community to assume its legal and ethical responsibilities, obliging Israel to stop its violations of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, respect the historic and legal situation therein, and fulfill the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish their independent, sovereign state on their national territory, based on the two-state solution.
Emmanuel Macron, on Sunday, condemned "the decision of the Israeli police" to prevent the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass, affirming his "full support” for the patriarch.
The French President wrote on the X platform: "I condemn this decision by the Israeli police, which adds to repeated and troubling violations of the status of the holy places in Jerusalem".
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem confirmed that the Israeli police had prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Custos of the Holy Land Francesco Patton from entering the church in Jerusalem during their way to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass, noting that this happens for the first time "in centuries".
