Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed, Monday on X, that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem would regain “total and immediate access” to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. To justify blocking the army, he cited security reasons, in the context of the war in the Middle East. “In recent days, Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of the three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles,” he wrote. “During a strike, missile fragments crashed a few meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.”
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In the narrow streets of the old town, the news circulated quickly after mass: the Latin patriarch and the Franciscan custos were forbidden to pray in the holy place. Information provokes anger. “As a Christian, a member of a community which today represents less than 2% of the population in Israel, I feel persecuted,” said Jeries, who sheltered from the torrential rain under a small stone bridge before being interrupted by the missile warning sirens.
Jerusalem will never have known such a tense religious celebration, in memory of this Palestinian from Israel, originally from Bethlehem. Since February 28 and the Israeli-American attack against their Shiite enemy, the Israeli authorities have banned gatherings of more than 50 people, including in places of worship.
