“The US, France and Italy criticised the decision. The US ambassador Mike Huckabee said the incident was 'an unfortunate overreach'. Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, called the incident 'an offence not only to the faithful but to any community that respects religious freedom', and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said 'the free exercise of worship in Jerusalem must be guaranteed for all religions'.”

“The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said there had been no 'malicious intent' and the cardinal was prevented from accessing the church because of safety concerns. But he later announced that although he understood 'this concern', he had instructed the relevant authorities that Pizzaballa 'be granted full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem'.”