Netanyahu’s reversal on the Holy Sepulchre is a manoeuvre to deflect global criticism

Netanyahu’s reversal on the Holy Sepulchre is a manoeuvre to deflect global criticism Ismail Patel on Tue, 03/31/2026 - 07:27 Granting the Latin Patriarch access to the church does not fix the fundamental issue of a colonial system designed to erase Palestinian Christian presence Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, sits inside the Church of All Nations to mark Palm Sunday following Israel's cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession on 29 March, 2026 (AFP) On In Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands at the heart of Christian worship. It is the site for commemorating the crucifixion and resurrection. To deny access to this site is not a simple administrative act. It is a violent interruption of ancestral religious ties, a colonial imposition that severs Palestinian Christians from the heart of their spiritual and communal life. The loss is not only theirs. Every act of exclusion from sacred space is a lesson in the ongoing Israeli occupation, a reminder that the logic of domination still governs Jerusalem. Israel closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on 28 February and prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Father Francesco lelpo, Custos of the Holy Land, from entering it on Palm Sunday. This had a major impact. It is thought this is the first time in centuries that senior church leaders had been kept from attending Palm Sunday Mass at the Holy Sepulchre. The Latin Patriarchate called it "a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world, who during this week, look to Jerusalem". (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed the decision only after facing international criticism, including from one of his closest allies, Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, who said that denying the cardinal access to the church was "difficult to understand or justify". On Monday, Israeli police said that they reached an agreement with Christian leaders to allow "limited prayer" at the church. Architecture of control This reversal is not a solution but a performance, a manoeuvre to placate international audiences while the colonial architecture of control remains intact. True freedom of worship cannot exist under occupation. Freedom demands the dismantling of the structures that enable Israel to dictate access to Jerusalem’s sacred sites. Words without an end to occupation only perpetuate harm, sustaining the violence of exclusion and erasure. The Holy Sepulchre remains under occupation. Without dismantling the colonial order, such reprieves merely deflect criticism and entrench control The "security" pretext does not justify the closure. On 12 March, Israel’s foreign ministry claimed that a missile landed a few hundred meters from the Old City, close to al Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Israeli officials have pointed to the war on Iran as the reason for closing the Old City’s holy sites. Still, safety should not mean that worship can be stopped at the whim of occupation authorities. Rules already limited gatherings to 50 or 100 people with access to bomb shelters, showing that more focused precautions were possible. So, the complete closure of the church under the guise of "security" and the obstruction of the Latin Patriarch was a political choice, framed as emergency management. These are not isolated incidents. They are manifestations of a colonial system designed to erase Palestinian indigenous presence, all while cloaking itself in the language of neutrality and governance. This is not security. It is the exercise of power that seeks to normalise exclusion. The Holy Sepulchre has long been governed by the Status Quo, an Ottoman-era arrangement. It was meant to keep balance among Christian communities through shared custody. Its suspension under Israeli rule does not enhance security; instead, it asserts state power over sacred spaces and turns places of worship into battlegrounds of domination and dispossession. A temporary gesture For Palestinian Christians and all other Palestinians, this is not an isolated affront but a symptom of a broader colonial regime that polices movement, worship, education, and the very right to exist in Jerusalem. In January, Palestinian church leaders warned that Israeli settler violence threatens the Christian presence in the Holy Land. The season of goodwill? Not for Palestinian Christians facing Israel's religious persecution Read More » Last year, Israel imposed repeated restrictions on Christian access to Holy Week observances, while a World Council of Churches report noted that increasing violence, economic hardship, and worship restrictions threaten Christian communities throughout the Holy Land. This daily reality involves not only the loss of land but also the regulation of time, ritual, and dignity. This is an assault on the fabric of Palestinian life itself. Netanyahu’s reversal is a temporary gesture and does not fix the fundamental issue of illegal occupation. Granting the patriarch the right to access the Church of the Holy Sepulchre only under international pressure is not accountability. It is the management of optics. Palestinian Christians from the Occupied West Bank and Gaza remain barred from Jerusalem, their movement circumscribed by checkpoints and expulsions. The Holy Sepulchre remains under occupation. Without dismantling the colonial order, such reprieves merely deflect criticism and entrench control. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Free access to all faiths This logic of exclusion is not limited to Christian sites. Muslim worshippers, too, have been barred from Masjid Al-Aqsa during most of Ramadan and Eid. If Jerusalem is to remain a city of faiths, its sacred sites must be liberated from the administrative grip of Israeli occupation Those who dared to pray outside the walls of Al-Aqsa were violently dispersed by Israeli forces. Jerusalem is governed by a regime of exceptions, where access to the sacred is contingent on the whims of the occupying power. This is not neutrality. It is the colonial management of faith, where security becomes the language of control. The international community must move beyond begging Israeli leaders to open holy sites. What is required is a guarantee of free, fair access to holy sites for all faiths. The opening of the Holy Sepulchre and demanding the reopening of Al-Aqsa Mosque is not a favour but a legal imperative, a step toward restoring dignity and affirming Palestinian sovereignty over their spiritual and material heritage. If Jerusalem is to remain a city of faiths, its sacred sites must be liberated from the administrative grip of Israeli occupation. Only then can the city embody the promise of shared belonging and justice. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye. Occupation Opinion Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0