VATICAN CITY, March 29. /TASS/. Israeli police did not allow Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, together with the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass, according to the joint statement of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land.

"For the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre," the statement indicates.

"This incident is a grave precedent and disregard the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem," it added.