Diarmaid Fleming

The European Union has warned Israel that it is ready to impose sanctions on those aiding and abetting the trade of Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia in the occupied territories, after a new ship loaded with the cereal arrived in the port of Haifa. l.euronews.com/safl

Israel has behaved with absolute barbarity today. This is item 4 on BBC Radio 4 News - "In Lebanon there has been no let up in the fighting" As so often - @BBCNews must ask itself how it would have reported this if the victims were Israeli. Deeply ingrained racism.

JUST IN: Israeli Police prevented Cardinal Pizzaballa from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre today, as he went to say Mass. @LPJerusalem calls it a “grave precedent” which “constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.” Full statement from @LPJerusalem below —— Joint Press Release The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land Holy City of Jerusalem Palm Sunday, 29 March 2026 This morning, the Israeli Police prevented 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 in Jerusalem, as they made their way to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass. The two were stopped en route, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and were compelled to turn back. As a result, and 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. This incident is a grave precedent,and disregard the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem. The Heads of the Churches have acted with full responsibility and, since the outset of the war, have complied with all imposed restrictions: public gatherings were cancelled, attendance was prohibited, and arrangements were made to broadcast the celebrations to hundreds of millions of faithful worldwide, who, during these days of Easter, turn their eyes to Jerusalem and to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos, who bear the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church and the Holy Places, constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure. This hasty and 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 Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land express their profound sorrow to the Christian faithful in the Holy Land and throughout the world that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar has thus been prevented.

#AlMayadeen's correspondent to South Lebanon, Fatima Ftouni, was martyred earlier today in an Israeli airstrike that directly targeted journalists in the South covering the Israeli aggression on Lebanon. Fatima was in a vehicle clearly labeled "Press" alongside other journalists, including Al-Manar's Ali Sheaib. Fatima was known and loved by all her colleagues, either from her time as an editor in Al Mayadeen Net, or as a correspondent for Al Mayadeen covering the Israeli war of aggression on South Lebanon. Known for her bravery, steadfastness, and forever love for her profession and her constant desire to deliver the message of her people's resistance to the world, she will continue to live within our hearts for the joy she brought us all as a colleague with her warmth, and her dedication to her field. This is not the first time that Al Mayadeen's correspondents have been targeted. Soon after "Israel" began its war on Lebanon, Al Mayadeen's correspondent Farah Omar and Cameraman Rabih Me'mari were martyred in an Israeli aggression on November 21, 2023. Al Mayadeen's Ghassan Najjar and Mohammad Reda were also martyred in another Israeli attack on journalists on October 25, 2024. This is part of "Israel's" systematic attacks on journalists. In the past three years, "Israel" has killed hundreds of journalists across the region, all in an attempt to prevent the broadcasting of the reality of its crimes. #LebanonUnderAttack #Lebanon

JUST IN: Israeli Police prevented Cardinal Pizzaballa from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre today, as he went to say Mass. @LPJerusalem calls it a “grave precedent” which “constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.” Full statement from @LPJerusalem below —— Joint Press Release The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land Holy City of Jerusalem Palm Sunday, 29 March 2026 This morning, the Israeli Police prevented 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 in Jerusalem, as they made their way to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass. The two were stopped en route, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and were compelled to turn back. As a result, and 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. This incident is a grave precedent,and disregard the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem. The Heads of the Churches have acted with full responsibility and, since the outset of the war, have complied with all imposed restrictions: public gatherings were cancelled, attendance was prohibited, and arrangements were made to broadcast the celebrations to hundreds of millions of faithful worldwide, who, during these days of Easter, turn their eyes to Jerusalem and to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos, who bear the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church and the Holy Places, constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure. This hasty and 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 Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land express their profound sorrow to the Christian faithful in the Holy Land and throughout the world that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar has thus been prevented.