Immediately after the meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen in Bethlehem yesterday (Friday), US President Joe Biden visited the city's Nativity Church, where the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, Theophilus III, was waiting for him.
The patriarch accompanied the president during his prayer at the church, and told him about the state of the Christian community in the capital.
In addition, he sought the intervention of the US administration in defending "Christian existence in Jerusalem."
"Members of extremist Zionist organizations are trying to seize property and property at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem, in the Christian Quarter and in the area of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in an ugly campaign against the Christian presence in the city," the patriarch told Baiden.
"Maintaining the status quo is a top priority for the churches, just as the guardianship of the Hashemite Kingdom (Kingdom of Jordan, DBS) should be maintained in the holy places in the city."
The properties at the Jaffa Gate that the patriarch talked about are the "Petra" and "Imperial" hotels.
A group of Jews entered the Petra Hotel about three months ago, a move that provoked much opposition in the church as well as among Palestinian officials.
On the other hand, the court's ruling last month ruled that the sale of the property from the Greek Orthodox Church to entities affiliated with the right-wing Ateret Kohanim organization is legal.
Israel Today reported that the Palestinians and the Greek Orthodox patriarch have been working with the Americans in recent weeks and asked for their intervention in the issue of properties at the Jaffa Gate in the Old City.
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