Jordanian calls to stop sale of church land in Jerusalem to Israel

Jordanian MPs yesterday called on their government to stop a deal which will see Palestinian land owned by the Eastern Greek Orthodox Patriarchate being sold to an Israeli investment firm, Quds Press reported.

The Eastern Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem has sold around 500 dunams (0.5 square kilometres) of land to Jewish investors and businessmen. Theofilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, signed the deal.

Approximately 40 Jordanian MPs yesterday signed a statement which was published by local media denouncing the sale and calling to “stop disrespecting the land of the Christian endowment in Jerusalem”.

Read: Orthodox Church in Jerusalem sells land to Israel

In the statement, the MPs said that the Christian endowments in Jerusalem are being “given up and sold”.

Meanwhile, the MPs said: “As part of our moral responsibility as representatives of the Jordanian people, we stress on the importance of government interference to put pressure in order to thwart the deal.”

The statement added:

Conceding even one inch of Palestinian land to the Israeli Zionist occupation is major treason for Palestine and its people who have been fighting the occupation in order to achieve freedom and independence.

For its part, the Patriarchate said that it did not sell its land, but it “saved” its financial rights in relation to land “taken” by Israel in 1951.