Spain summoned Israel’s top envoy to Madrid on Monday in protest over Israeli police blocking the Latin Patriarch from Christianity’s holiest site in Jerusalem, the foreign minister said.
“This cannot happen again. Catholic worship must be able to be celebrated normally,” Jose Manuel Albares told RAC1 radio after Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was prevented from holding Palm Sunday mass at the Holy Sepulchre church.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez joined a chorus of international condemnation on Sunday, denouncing an “attack on religious freedom”.
Israel said the cardinal would be allowed to regain access to the site and cited security concerns for the measure.
Since US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked the Middle East war on February 28, Israeli authorities have banned large gatherings, including at synagogues, churches and mosques.
Israel has been represented in Spain by a charge d’affaires since 2024, when it withdrew its ambassador after Madrid recognised a Palestinian state.
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