Jordan condemns Israeli measure targeting Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem
Israeli authorities freeze all bank accounts of Patriarchate of Jerusalem over longstanding property tax dispute
Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Hamza Z. H. Qraiqea, Anadolu Agency
AMMAN/ISTANBUL
Jordan on Saturday strongly condemned Israel’s freezing of all bank accounts belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem over a longstanding property tax dispute.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry denounced “in the strongest terms Israel’s continued assaults — as the occupying power — on Jerusalem’s Christians and the restrictions imposed on them, the latest of which is the freezing of bank accounts belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem.”
It described the move as “a clear violation of the historical and legal status quo at the Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.”
The ministry reaffirmed “the Kingdom’s absolute rejection and strong condemnation of Israel’s illegal measures amid its ongoing assaults on Palestinian cities and their holy sites in occupied Jerusalem in blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law.”
It stressed that “Israel has no sovereignty over the West Bank and its Arab Islamic and Christian holy sites.”
The ministry also renewed its call on the international community to “assume its legal and moral responsibilities and compel Israel to immediately halt its aggression on Gaza.”
It further urged an end to “Israel’s unilateral and illegal measures in the occupied West Bank, its violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, and the fulfillment of the Palestinian people’s rights to establish their independent state on their national soil.”
The freezing of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem’s bank accounts has escalated tensions with Christian institutions in the occupied city, a statement by Protecting Holy Land Christians, a group founded by Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, said Thursday.
A decades-long agreement had historically exempted churches from such taxes, but in 2018, the city narrowed the exemption to properties used solely for prayer, religious teaching or related needs, seeking tens of millions of shekels in back taxes.
The dispute echoes a 2018 clash when then-mayor Nir Barkat froze church accounts, prompting a three-day closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in protest. The municipality relented after intervention by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Tensions have since flared periodically over specific properties and activities.
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