Pierbattista Pizzaballa was stopped by Israeli police while visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. According to Pizzaballa's office, stopping a patriarch had not happened in hundreds of years, and Israel said it was justified by the current security situation.
The action has been criticized by, among others, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that an Iranian missile earlier this week hit near the site, but that Pizzaballa will now be given "immediate" access.
