Israeli police barred Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from celebrating Palm Sunday mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, sparking outrage and condemnation from Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic figure in Jerusalem, was barred from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday mass, according to his office, in what Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni labelled an "offence to the faithful".