Church loses case over Jerusalem sale to settlers

JERUSALEM: The Greek Orthodox Church has lost its battle in an Israeli court to overturn the controversial sale of some of its properties in annexed east Jerusalem to Jewish settlers.

The real estate deal dates back to 2004, when three companies linked to the Ateret Cohanim settler organisation secured the long-term lease of two hotels near Jerusalem´s Jaffa Gate and a residential building in the Old City´s Muslim Quarter. Ateret Cohanim seeks to “Judaise” east Jerusalem in its entirety, by purchasing real estate in the city´s Palestinian areas through front companies. When it was revealed, the sale triggered widespread Palestinian anger and led to the 2005 dismissal of Patriarch Irineos I. The Greek Orthodox Church is the largest and wealthiest church in the Holy Land, with huge land portfolios in Israel, the occupied West Bank and Jordan. Following the outcry over the sales to Ateret Cohanim, church leaders launched a lengthy legal challenge. The Jerusalem district court ruled in favour of the settlers in 2017 and the church lost its appeal at the supreme court in 2019. The church then petitioned the Jerusalem district court to cancel the decision it made two years earlier, citing new evidence. In a ruling issued Wednesday, the district court rejected that request and said it was “lacking sufficient grounds” as no new evidence of substance had been submitted. Abu Walid Dajani, who runs one of the two hotels, told AFP he expected the church to appeal the latest ruling. But “I don´t think the supreme court will change much,” said Dajani, who oversees the Imperial Hotel. The 76-year-old said the settlers are additionally demanding he pay rent retroactively for the past 15 years and are trying to evict him, “although I have a contract” with the church. On top of the legal challenges, Dajani said the hotel has been closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The sale of the hotel and the other buildings made Ateret Cohanim the ultimate owner of the majority of the properties between the Old City´s Jaffa Gate and Arab market. Israel took over mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. It now considers the entire city its capital, citing the Jewish historical and biblical connection there.