Police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from entering the church on Palm Sunday, citing security concerns. Israel has enforced restrictions on gatherings at holy sites during the ongoing war with Iran.

After a widespread backlash, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Latin Patriarch would get "full and immediate access" to the church.

For Christians, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, commemorating Jesus Christ's final days in Jerusalem leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection at Easter.

"The liturgy of the Holy Week will be celebrated internally with closed doors, without people, with a local community and a few others," Pizzaballa told journalists on Tuesday, specifying that only a handful of people and a bishop would take part.

He added that the church would aim to broadcast all the Easter celebrations live worldwide.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains the sites where Christians believe Christ was crucified, entombed and resurrected.

Pizzaballa said that while there had initially been "some misunderstanding" with the police on Palm Sunday, the officers' conduct had been "very respectful" and a dialogue with Israeli authorities had swiftly been established to resolve the issue.

"We are sorry for what happened, but... this is an occasion to look forward," he said.

"We don't want a privilege, we said also to the police, I think that the same criteria should be applied to all, to the Western Wall, and of course also to Al-Aqsa and any other place," he said, referring to Jerusalem's other holy sites revered by Jews and Muslims.

"I think it's possible to save the principle of security, and also the principle of prayer in such sensitive places," he added.

Pizzaballa said he didn't think there was any intention to bar Christians or Muslims from praying at Jerusalem's holy sites, but that the issue stemmed from "underestimating the importance and sensitivity of these places".

The Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo, who was also barred from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday, described the incident as a "painful episode" for Christians everywhere.

But he told journalists on Tuesday that the event was an opportunity to ensure that freedom of worship for all religions was respected in the future.

"It is on this principle that we wish to continue building dialogue and cooperation with the authorities, convinced that mutual respect is the foundation for authentic coexistence and for the protection of the holy places, which belong not only to this land, but to all humanity," he said.