Egyptian Chronicles: Western Palm Sunday 2026 in Jerusalem: When the City was closed for prayer

The gates of our city will never be sealed—
For I am going there to pray.

I will knock on every door—
And the doors will open, one by one.

And you, O River Jordan, will wash my face
With waters holy and pure.

And you, O River Jordan, will wipe away
The footprints of the savage passing through.

When I saw the photos of Cardinal Pizzaballa standing in prayer outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City—barred from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to mark Western Palm Sunday—I was reminded of the words of the Rahbani Brothers, immortalized in 1967 by Fairuz, the Lady of Lebanon, in “Zahrat al-Mada’en” (زهرة المدائن), meaning “The Flower of Cities.”

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa holding the Palm Sunday Mass outside the walls of
old Jerusalem "AFP"

Jerusalem’s doors were, indeed, closed to worshippers on Palm Sunday 2026—for the first time in centuries—under the Israeli occupation of the Old City.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land said in a joint statement that, on the morning of Palm Sunday, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo —also the official guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—were prevented from entering the church as they headed to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa holding the Palm Sunday Mass outside the walls of
old Jerusalem "AFP"

The statement, released Sunday, said both Church leaders were stopped en route by Israeli police “while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act,” and were forced to turn back.

“For the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” the statement said.

It described the incident as “a grave precedent” that disregards “the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.”

According to the statement, the Heads of the Churches have acted responsibly and, since the outset of the war, have complied with all imposed restrictions.

Despite public gatherings being cancelled, attendance was prohibited, arrangements were made to broadcast the celebrations to hundreds of millions of faithful worldwide, who, during these Easter days, turn their eyes to Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The statement added that preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos—who bear the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church and the Holy Places—constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.

“This hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents a stark departure from the basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the Status Quo.” Said the statement.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa holding the Palm Sunday Mass outside the walls of
old Jerusalem "AFP"

That did not stop Cardinal Pizzaballa. Instead, he conducted a prayer service at the nearby Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, outside the Old City walls rather than inside the basilica—a powerful scene that quickly reverberated across the Catholic world.

بعد أن منعته الشرطة الإسرائيلية من دخول كنيسة القيامة، قام الكاردينال بيتسابالا بإقامة صلاة مباركة على القدس من جبل الزيتون باستخدام آثار الصليب المقدس قائلاً :

"سنصلي في المكان الذي صلى فيه المسيح ليلة صلبه." pic.twitter.com/wzpyRvyD1k
— أحداث الشرق الأوسط (@MiddleEast_ev) March 29, 2026

Inside the Old City, the streets were empty—an unusual scene on Palm Sunday according to the Western calendar.

Empty Palm Sunday in the Holy City of Jerusalem, on the main road leading to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. pic.twitter.com/OFeKcrsRdU
— Kegham Balian (@kbalian90) March 29, 2026

I admire Pizzaballa for recognizing what needed to be done.

Even U.S. Ambassador to Israel—often criticised for his staunch pro-Israel stance—Mike Huckabee condemned the action.

The Israeli president, as usual, soon appeared in what seemed like a PR damage-control effort, followed by statements from other officials, including the prime minister, expressing regret.

I have instructed the relevant authorities that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, be granted full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Over the past several days, Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three…
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 29, 2026

It was another major blow to the widely circulated media claim that Israel is a safer home for Christians in the Middle East—a fake narrative increasingly challenged by Christians themselves, foremost among them Palestinian Christians, who are now facing the threat of displacement and even extinction in the West Bank under Israeli occupation.

Not all Israeli officials responded, but several attempted to contain the fallout.

The authorities cited the war as justification. However, it is difficult to believe the decision was not deliberate—what they likely did not anticipate was the scale of the global Catholic reaction. It followed a familiar pattern.

For the first time since the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque has been closed to worshippers for over 30 days. It is also the first time since June 1967—arguably even since the Crusades—that the mosque did not hold Eid prayers.

This did not happen overnight.

It began with restrictions barring Muslims under 50, then under 40, from entering. When there was little international response, the measures escalated into a full ban on worship at the compound—at which point the reaction intensified.

In a way, one wishes for a Muslim figure with similar visibility and resolve to defend worshippers’ rights in East Jerusalem. Figures like Sheikh Ekrima Sabri have long taken on that role, despite facing repeated restrictions and bans from Al-Aqsa—yet he is now 87 years old.

Meanwhile, similar tensions have surfaced in the Armenian Quarter involving the Armenian Orthodox Church—another example of a recurring pattern in how pressure is applied and tested.

In contrast, the Catholic response—from the Pope to ordinary believers—was swift and vocal.

Had Pizzaballa not taken that visible stand and drawn global attention, it is possible that Easter celebrations themselves could have faced even greater restrictions. I know he put a scene, but that's how to win against corrupted, racist, fascist governments

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa holding the Palm Sunday Mass outside the walls of
old Jerusalem "AFP"

And yet, the city of prayer will not close its doors—God willing.

Updated: Israeli trolls and their allies launched a campaign against Cardinal Pizzaballa, circulating images of him wearing a keffiyeh and highlighting his visits to Gaza as if they were incriminating.