Jerusalem, 29 March, 2026 (TPS-IL) — President of Israel Isaac Herzog called the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to express his “great sorrow” over the incident this morning in the Old City of Jerusalem, in which the Cardinal and the Custos of the Holy Land, the Most Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo, were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for prayers amid the ongoing security situation.

The Church is the holiest site in Israel for Christians and preparations are currently being made for next week’s Easter holiday. However, all such holy places of any religion are required to follow the current security restrictions in place as Iran continues to launch missiles at Israeli cities.

President Herzog noted that this “unfortunate incident” came after incidents of Iranian missiles that had fallen in the area of the Old City of Jerusalem in recent days.

Herzog also reaffirmed the State of Israel’s “unwavering commitment” to freedom of religion for all faiths, as well as to upholding the status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) released a statement on the matter in which it also pointed out the security concerns.

“Over the past several days, Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles,” it said. “In one strike, missile fragments crashed meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.”

The PMO stressed that “there was no malicious intent whatsoever,” in this matter, “only concern for his safety and that of his party.”

It also said that “given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days.”

Gil Tanenbaum

See Full Bio