Israeli police prevented senior Catholic leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, marking the first time in centuries that the site's top clerics were barred from celebrating one of Christianity's most sacred observances. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco Ielpo, the Custos of Holy Land, were stopped en route to the church and turned back by police. The Latin Patriarchate and Custody expressed "profound sorrow" that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar had been prevented in the site. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani publicly condemned the move, calling it "unacceptable". Israeli authorities cited ongoing wartime conditions and security concerns as justification for the restrictions. All holy sites, including the temple mount and Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, have been closed amid ongoing conflict.