Spain summons top Israeli envoy over blocked Jerusalem mass

OVIEDO, Spain

Spain on Monday summoned Israel's charge d'affaires to protest after Israeli police prevented a senior Catholic cleric from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Madrid had formally conveyed its "protest" over the incident, calling it "very concerning" and "unacceptable."

"This cannot happen again," he told Spanish broadcaster RAC1. "Catholic worship must be allowed to take place normally, as it has historically."

Israel's highest diplomatic representation in Spain has been the charge d'affaires since 2024, when it withdrew its ambassador after Madrid recognized Palestinian statehood.

The move follows events on Sunday when Israeli police stopped Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from entering the church, one of Christianity's holiest sites, where he was due to lead a Palm Sunday service marking the start of Holy Week.

Albares said the incident reflects a broader pattern of restrictions affecting multiple faiths. "This is not new. Muslim worship, for example, has also not been allowed access to the holy sites. There has been a series of obstacles affecting different religions, including Christian and Catholic worship," he said.

Catholic authorities said it was the first time in centuries that a Latin Patriarch had been prevented from entering the site on Palm Sunday. "This hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship and respect for the status quo," the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially said the measure was taken out of concern for the patriarch's safety, citing Iranian targeting of holy sites in recent days. Following criticism from French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and US officials, however, Netanyahu reversed the decision, announcing late Sunday that authorities had been instructed to grant the patriarch "full and immediate access" to the church.

Sanchez on Sunday condemned the incident as an "unjustified attack on religious freedom."