蘑菇视频

30 March 2026

Identical letters dated 30 March 2026 from the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council

I write with profound urgency and deep concern regarding Israel’s latest violation of the historic status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem, by preventing, for the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On 29 March 2026, Israel deliberately prevented the entry of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, together with the Custos of the Holy Land, the Most Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo, OFM, the official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Palm Sunday prayer.

In a joint statement, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land called Israel’s decision to deny them entry “a fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the status quo”. The statement also called the discriminatory measures targeting Christian leaders as a “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.”

Israel has also been imposing for more than a month an enforced, unprecedented and unlawful lockdown of Al-Haram Al-Sharif during the holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. Israel not only denied millions of Palestinians access to Al-Haram Al-Sharif but it repeatedly attacked worshippers with batons, stun grenades and tear gas, as they gathered to perform prayers outside the walls of the Old City.

These are not isolated incidents and come against the backdrop of repeated infringement upon the sanctity of the holy sites, and attacks and restrictions against Christian and Muslim religious leaders and worshippers and with the Israeli government espousing and promoting extremist discourse and behaviour.

Over the past decades, Israel has purposefully upended centuries-old practice and customs that preserved Jerusalem’s religious identity as a shared sacred space for the three monotheistic religions, through assaults on the holy sites, denial of access, restriction of worship, obstruction of religious traditions and services, demolitions, unauthorized excavations and land theft.

These persistent violations show that Israel’s discriminatory measures are not driven by “security concerns”, but rather by comprehensive and systematic efforts to undermine the historic status quo, assert control over the holy sites and attempt to erase Palestinian and Arab identity of the Holy City, so as to entrench its illegal occupation and annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, notably East Jerusalem.

These violations have occurred despite repeated calls by the Security Council and the General Assembly for respect of the historic status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem, calling, “inter alia, for the exercise of restraint, refraining from provocative actions and rhetoric and upholding unchanged the historic status quo at the Haram al-Sharif – in word and in practice”. This requires a strong international response, including through the appropriate measures, to put an end to these illegal Israeli measures and practices.

The impunity that Israel enjoys, and within which it operates, enables it to continue its violations against the most fundamental rules of international law and the most fundamental rights of the Palestinian people.

Today the Palestinian people are marking Land Day, honouring the unbreakable bond between them and the land. It is a day of protest against decades of forced dispossession and displacement, the confiscation of their land and the denial of their identity and rights. The recognition by Israel of their existence and the respect of their rights are long overdue.

The present letter is in follow-up to our 887 previous letters regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which constitutes the territory of the State of Palestine. Those letters, dated from 29?September 2000 () to 16 March 2026 (), constitute a basic record of the crimes being committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people since September 2000. For all of these war crimes, acts of State terrorism and systematic human rights violations being committed against the Palestinian people, Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the present letter distributed as a document of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly, under agenda item 5, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Riyad Mansour

Minister, Permanent Observer

State of Palestine to the United Nations