Israel looking for 'solutions' to open Christian sites after barring church leader on Palm Sunday due to war

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Israel faced a backlash for Palm Sunday holy site closures and the Israel Police issued a video statement defending the security measure under the threat of war. Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other major holy sites were closed on Palm Sunday under Israeli wartime restrictions, disrupting one of Christianity’s holiest observances as the Iran war entered its fifth week. The Catholic Church rebuked the police decision as "a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure." Israeli police lamented the war restrictions limiting worship and acknowledged the need to "balance freedom" with "public safety." "Under Home Front Command directives, life-saving restrictions apply to all holy sites in the Old City — for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike," Israeli police posted to X, responding to an outcry on religious freedom in a vid