Netanyahu Opens Access to Jerusalem Church After Easter Backlash
Christians attend the service at Monastery of Saint Saviour to celebrate the feast of Palm Sunday in East Jerusalem on March 29.
Photographer: Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty ImagesIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he’s restoring access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after police prevented a Christian leader from holding Mass on Palm Sunday, prompting an international backlash.
Israeli authorities cited concern for the safety of the Latin Patriarch — essentially the Catholic archbishop responsible for the diocese including Israel and Palestinian territories — when they stopped him en route to the church, which is the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified.