The Israeli side provided “firm guarantees” to the Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all of Palestine, Theophilus III, that the ceremonies designated for Easter week will be held in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This was announced by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova during a press conference held on April 1.
“At the same time, decisions on the format of events will be made according to a large number of preliminary information, security issues, etc. Therefore, I do not want to draw any conclusions now,” Zakharova said.
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was unable to celebrate Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on March 29, on the occasion of Palm Sunday. The Israeli police stopped him while he was walking to the temple alone, without a procession.
After that, the Italian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador. Soon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commander Let the Latin Patriarch enter the temple. Netanyahu noted that rocket debris recently fell a few meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and in this regard, Israel asked representatives of all religions to temporarily not visit the shrines in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Israel Police I mentioned March 30: For security reasons, the Descent of the Holy Fire ceremony in Jerusalem, scheduled for April 11, will be held behind closed doors.