Russian diplomacy denounced Wednesday, June 15 the decision of the Israeli Supreme Court to authorize the acquisition by an ultranationalist Jewish organization of land belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church in the Old City of Jerusalem, seeing it as a threat to the "
presence Christian
” on the spot.
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"
Such a decision is detrimental to interfaith peace and raises legitimate concerns about the situation of the Christian community in the Holy Land
," said Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a statement.
“
Moscow is determined to defend the Christian presence in the Middle East and to ensure that the rights and freedoms of believers are respected
,” she added.
The objective: to “
Judaize
” East Jerusalem
In a judgment released on June 9, Israel's top legal body rejects an appeal by the Greek Orthodox Church, which submitted new documents to the court challenging the sale of buildings to the Israeli settler association. Ateret Cohanim.
This association aims to "
Judaize
" the eastern and Palestinian part of Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by the Jewish state, and has been buying up housing there for years, using front companies that are not officially linked to it.
The case dates back to 2004 when Ateret Cohanim acquired the rights to long leases on three Church buildings, including the Petra Hotel and the Imperial Hotel in the Christian quarter of the Old City, as well as a residential building located in the Muslim quarter, all occupied by Palestinians.
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate lawyer Assaad Mazzawi called it a "
very sad day
".
"
We are talking about a group of extremists who want to take over Church property, who want to change the character of the Old City, invade Christian areas
," he told AFP.
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Maria Zakharova also condemned the “
desecration
” on June 6 by “
about fifty violent Israelis
” of a chapel belonging to the Orthodox Church, seeing in it “
an open challenge, a flagrant proof of the will of radical religious forces to launch an assault on the Orthodox in the Holy Land
” and asking Israel for “
an objective investigation
”.
