Palm Sunday March in Jerusalem Canceled

The Roman Catholic Church has canceled its traditional Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem for the second straight year due to the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, a church official said Thursday.

The march, due to be held next Sunday, from the Mount of Olives to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem’s walled Old City, was a highlight of the Christian calendar in the Holy Land and attracted thousands of tourists.

Father Adib Zoomot, secretary to the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Michel Sabbah, said church leaders decided to call off the parade “out of concern for worshipers in these troubled times.”