Pedro Sanchez has launched a fresh attack on Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu after authorities blocked a key Palm Sunday mass in Jerusalem.
The incident saw access denied to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – one of Christianity’s holiest sites – sparking international outrage.
Taking to social media, the Spanish prime minister condemned the move in strong terms.
‘Netanyahu has prevented Catholics from celebrating Palm Sunday in the Holy Sites of Jerusalem. Without any explanation. Without reasons or justification,’ he said.
‘From the Government of Spain, we condemn this unjustified attack on religious freedom and demand that Israel respect the diversity of beliefs and international law.
‘Because without tolerance, coexistence is impossible.’
The controversy centres on the decision to prevent the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa – the highest Catholic authority in the Holy Land – from accessing the church, where the traditional Palm Sunday mass was due to take place.
Israeli authorities justified the move on security grounds, citing instability linked to the ongoing conflict with Iran.
But the Patriarchate hit back, calling the decision ‘a disregard for the sensitivity of billions of people around the world’ and warning it had no precedent ‘in centuries’.
The fallout has quickly spread beyond Spain.
In Vatican City, Pope Leo XIV led Palm Sunday celebrations before tens of thousands of worshippers, using the moment to highlight the plight of Christians in the region.
During his homily, he prayed for ‘Christians in the Middle East who are suffering the consequences of a terrible conflict and in many cases cannot fully live the rites of these holy days’.
Italy’s Prime minister Giorgia Meloni described the ban as an ‘offence”’ while foreign minister Antonio Tajani summoned Israel’s ambassador in Rome to formally protest.
Elsewhere, French President Emmanuel Macron said: ‘I condemn this decision by the Israeli police, which adds to a worrying series of violations of the status of the Holy Sites of Jerusalem,’ adding that ‘the free exercise of worship in Jerusalem must be guaranteed for all religions’.
Netanyahu insisted there was ‘no malicious intent’, only ‘concern for security’, and announced that plans are being drawn up to allow Christian leaders to pray at the Holy Sepulchre in the coming days.
