U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee demonstrated on Wednesday that reports about Israel’s closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem amid the ongoing war are misleading and taken out of context.
These reports omit the “important fact [that] the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site is also closed,” Huckabee tweeted.
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the First and Second Temples stood, is the holiest site in Judaism. The Western Wall is a remnant of the retaining wall encircling the Mount built by Herod the Great in the first century. The wall is currently the holiest site where Jews can pray without restrictions.
Huckabee also noted that a large piece of an Iranian missile had landed recently in the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. “If not closed, mass casualties [would have ensued],” the ambassador added.
Reports @Israel has closed Church of Holy Sepulcher & Al Aska Mosque omit important fact-the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site is also closed. A large piece of Iranian missile landed in courtyard at Church of the Holy Sepulcher. If not closed, mass casualties.
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) March 18, 2026
On March 16, an Iranian ballistic missile exploded over Israel’s capital, with debris falling on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian Patriarchate, the Jewish Quarter and the Temple Mount near al-Aqsa mosque.
Last week, a media watchdog reported that official Palestinian Authority TV is “libeling” Israel by falsely claiming that Israeli wartime restrictions at Al-Aqsa mosque are intended to facilitate an extremist Jewish Passover sacrifice.
Israel’s across-the-board ban on public gatherings of more than 50 people out of security concerns went into effect following the outbreak of war in Iran on Feb. 28. But a report on Monday on official P.A. TV said that the limitations were geared to enable Jews to carry out a Passover sacrifice at the Jerusalem holy site.
On March 14, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem have been closed “for one reason: protecting worshippers.” “The same safety measures apply to the Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” the ministry wrote in an X post.
