“An offense not only to believers!” Macron and Meloni's reaction after Israeli police prevented senior Catholic prelates from holding the Flower Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The decision of the Israeli police to ban the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to officiate the liturgy of the Catholic Flowers in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher provoked the irritation of Italy and France. Paris, in particular, has a history of tense moments with Israel over the way Christians are treated in the Holy Land.

“For the first time in recent centuries, Church leaders were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday liturgy in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher,” the Jerusalem Patriarchate said.

This development “sets a serious precedent and shows a lack of consideration for the feelings of billions of people around the world who, this week, turn their eyes to Jerusalem.”

Girogia Meloni's reaction: “An offense not only for believers”

A first condemnation of the incident came from Rome, where Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the Israeli police's gesture “constitutes an offense not only for believers, but for the entire community that recognizes religious freedom.” At the same time, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, announced on the X platform that he had summoned Israel's ambassador to Italy to the ministry for Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron was equally categorical in a post on X.

“I condemn this decision by the Israeli police, which adds to the worrying increase in violations of the status of the Holy Places in Jerusalem. The free exercise of worship in Jerusalem must be guaranteed for all religions,” Macron wrote.

Two French presidents, pulled out of their jumps by Israeli policemen

In the past, Emmanuel Macron personally had an altercation with police officers in Israel. France owns four national domains in the Jerusalem area: the Tomb of the Kings, the Church of Saint Anne, the Benedictine monastery at Eleona and the Romanesque churches built during the Crusades at Abu Gosh, all of which have been under French jurisdiction for more than 150 years.

On January 22, 2022, President Macron's visit to Israel was marked by a stampede in front of the Basilica of Saint Anne. The president snapped at an Israeli policeman who had acted brutally: “I don't like what you did in front of me! Get out, please!” Macron said then, visibly irritated by the policeman's presence in the church.

French President Emmanuel Macron yells at Israeli police and kicks them out of the French church in Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/UDsx5ihaxh

— TRT World (@trtworld) January 22, 2020

The most famous incident is the one in 1996 when President Jacques Chirac admonished the Israeli policemen who were surrounding him too closely, telling them “Do you want me to go back to the plane?”, after which he asked them to leave the Saint Anne estate.

Another tense moment occurred in November 2024, during the visit of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot to Israel, when the minister refused to enter the Eleona compound while Israeli police detained two French gendarmes. Israel did not communicate the reason for the intervention in a territory under French sovereignty, but later released the gendarmes.

“I will not enter today because the Israeli security forces entered armed, without obtaining prior authorization from France and without agreeing to leave,” Barrot said. “This attack on the integrity of an area placed under the responsibility of France is likely to weaken ties with Israel,” the French official continued.

Fears of violence in the West Bank

Regarding the “violations” of the status of the Holy Places mentioned by Macron, it is notable the gesture of the leaders of the Christian communities in Israel who participated together in a liturgy celebrated at the ruins of a Christian church from the 5th century, as a sign of protest against the burning of a Christian church in Taybeh by Jewish settlers from the West Bank.

Fears of violence are driving Christians to leave the West Bank, said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem. “Unfortunately, the temptation to emigrate exists because of the situation. At the moment it is very difficult to see when and how it will end, it is especially difficult for young people to talk about hope and confidence in the future,” said Pizzaballa.

Around 50,000 Palestinian Christians live in Jerusalem and the West Bank, an area home to many holy sites, including Bethlehem where Jesus was born.

France has a role as a protector of Christians in the Holy Land, ever since it was part of the Ottoman Empire.

Macron, cursed by Netanyahu's son

The Jerusalem Flowers incident occurs in the context in which relations between France and Israel are already strained, after France officially recognized the state of Palestine in September 2025, during a UN General Assembly. Macron reasoned that this could contribute to the establishment of lasting peace in the region.

In response, the Israeli government said the Paris decision was “a reward for terrorism”. Much less diplomatic was even the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who cursed Macron.

“Go to hell!”, Yair Netanyahu wrote in English on Platform X. “Yes to independence for New Caledonia! Yes to independence for French Polynesia! Yes to independence for Corsica! Yes to independence for the Basque Country! Yes to independence for French Guinea,” Yair Netanyahu added, misspelling the name of French Guiana.