Today, Sunday, the Israeli police prevented Christian citizens from the West Bank from reaching the occupied city of Jerusalem, to participate in the commemoration of Palm Sunday according to the Western calendar.

Today, the Christian churches that follow the Western calendar in Palestine commemorate Palm Sunday. It is the last Sunday before Easter, and “the anniversary of the entry of Jesus Christ into the city of Jerusalem.”

This morning, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, presided over the Palm Sunday Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in the Old City of Jerusalem.

A group of bishops and priests participated in the mass that was held in front of the Holy Sepulcher, in the presence of a crowd of monks and nuns and a limited number of worshipers, the majority of whom were from the city of Jerusalem and the 1948 territories, after the Israeli occupation deprived thousands of Christians from the West Bank governorates of access to the Holy City. 

The Israeli forces imposed strict military measures on the checkpoints surrounding the city of Jerusalem and in the vicinity of the Old City.

The Israeli authorities require Palestinians, Muslims and Christians, to obtain special permits to cross their military checkpoints surrounding the Holy City and reach places of worship, especially the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

It also places restrictions on issuing permits, requiring citizens to possess a “card” issued by the Israeli authorities after they conduct what they call a “security check” of the applicant. After that, citizens are forced to download a special application on their mobile devices and submit an application for the permit, and the application is often rejected.

This afternoon, the traditional Palm Sunday procession begins from the “Beit Faggi” Church to the Church of St. Anne “Al-Salahiya” within the walls of the Old City, after which a special prayer is held, headed by Patriarch Pizzaballa.

Churches canceled all celebrations of the holidays in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October. Holidays are limited to holding masses, prayers, and religious rituals.

A limited number of Christian pilgrims from different countries of the world arrived in Jerusalem, in light of a number of airlines canceling their flights due to the continued aggression against Gaza, in addition to the severe restrictions imposed by the occupation authorities on the passage of foreigners from the King Hussein Bridge.

The churches in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, and Gaza that follow the Western calendar celebrate Palm Sunday, while the churches in the unified governorates of Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin celebrate Easter according to the Eastern calendar.

In the city of Bethlehem, a Palm Sunday Mass was held in the Latin Church of St. Catherine, adjacent to the Church of the Nativity, and masses were also held in various Catholic churches in Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Beit Jala. Palm Sunday Mass was also held at the Latin Church of the Good Shepherd in the city of Jericho.

In Gaza City, Palm Sunday Mass was held in the Holy Family Latin Church, despite the difficult circumstances imposed by the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Father Youssef Asaad presided over the mass, with the participation of a number of displaced citizens in the church since the beginning of the aggression.