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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine issued a statement regarding restrictions imposed on Christian clergy in occupied Jerusalem.

The ministry stated that preventing religious leaders from reaching the holy site to conduct the Sunday Mass before Easter violates the legal and historical status.

The statement included the following regarding Israeli authorities' practices:

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates strongly condemns the actions of the Israeli occupation authorities in preventing the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ilbo, from going to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied Jerusalem to conduct the Sunday Mass before Easter. This constitutes a dangerous precedent that violates freedom of worship and targets the authentic Christian presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem."

Highlighting the religious and social impacts of the ban, the ministry stated: "This arbitrary ban, unprecedented for centuries, constitutes a crime and an illegal military measure that prevents church leaders from performing their religious rites. It is a clear violation of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them freedom of worship."

The ministry added that the situation represents a disregard for the feelings of hundreds of millions of people worldwide and violates the sanctity of the city of Jerusalem.