Israel Prevents Christians from Accessing Jerusalem

The Israeli occupation prevented Christian citizens from the West Bank from entering occupied Jerusalem on Sunday to participate in Palm Sunday, according to the Palestinian News Agency.

Eastern and Western Christian churches are commemorating Palm Sunday today, the last Sunday before Easter, and the "commemoration of the entry of Jesus Christ into the city of Jerusalem."

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine and Jordan, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and other patriarchs and heads of churches presided over Palm Sunday masses and prayers at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. A group of bishops, priests, monks, and nuns participated, with a limited number of worshippers in attendance, most of them from Jerusalem and the 1948 territories. This comes after the Israeli occupation prevented thousands of Christians from the West Bank governorates from accessing the Holy City.

Israeli occupation forces imposed strict military measures at the checkpoints surrounding Jerusalem and the Old City.