Eight Middle Eastern nations decried lack of access to some of the world’s most sacred religious sites, including Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The locations are core to the origins of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, but the foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt issued a joint statement condemning Israel for limiting access in a way they contend violates international law.
On Sunday, Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and the Rev. Francesco Ielpo, the church’s official guardian, from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said.
It said it was “the first time in centuries” that Palm Sunday Mass could not be celebrated at what it considers Christianity’s holiest site and the location where many believe Jesus was crucified.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the access was closed when war broke out because Iran has targeted the sites with munitions. It said Sunday’s action was done with “no malicious intent” but rather out of concern for the safety of the cardinal.
The foreign ministers also condemned what they described as Israel’s continued closure of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Haram al-Sharif, known to Israelis as the Temple Mount, to worshippers for 30 days, including during the holy month of Ramadan.
The ministers have called the restrictions a violation of freedom of religion and characterized access as a matter outside Israel’s control and under the purview of the Jerusalem Waqf, the Jordanian-appointed body that has long managed the Islamic sites.
“The ministers called on Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately cease the closure of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram al-Sharif, remove the restrictions imposed on access to the Old City of Jerusalem, and refrain from obstructing Muslim worshippers’ access to the mosque,” the joint statement said.
