In a dramatic ruling, the Jerusalem District Court has blocked the long-term lease of church properties in Jerusalem’s Old City to a right-wing Jewish organization, overturning previous rulings and accepting a request for retrial, Hebrew-language media reports.
Israel’s top court had given final approval on June 11 to the 2004 lease of three buildings located in East Jerusalem’s Old City to businesses linked to the Ateret Cohanim organization, which seeks to increase the Jewish presence in Palestinian-majority areas of the capital.
The Imperial Hotel at the Jaffa Gate, the lease to which was sold to the right-wing Ateret Cohanim organization and is the subject of an appeal by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
The Greek Orthodox Church in August filed a new lawsuit against the pro-settlement group in a bid to overturn the ruling, claiming it had “clear proof” of corruption in the long-disputed lease of several Old City properties, including two Palestinian-run hotels.
The deal made Ateret Cohanim the owner of the majority of properties located between the Old City’s Jaffa Gate and the entrance to its Arab market.
The purchase of 99-year leases through three front companies had triggered Palestinian anger and led to the 2005 dismissal of Patriarch Irineos I.
But the Israeli court has now canceled the previous rulings since the front companies, listed in the Virgin Islands, did not file a defense against the church’s new allegations.
The court also orders those firms to pay court fees totaling NIS 50,000 ($14,400).
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
