Jerusalem: Palestine on Friday warned of an 'unprecedented' Israeli assault on churches in the territory as part of a 'systematic campaign to eradicate Christian presence.'
According to Anadolu Agency, the Higher Presidential Committee of Church Affairs in Palestine pointed to 'an unprecedented assault on the churches of the Holy Land, led by a direct attack on the Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem.' The committee stated that these actions are part of a policy aimed at dismantling the Christian presence in Palestine and stripping the land of its historic religious institutions.
The committee explained that on Thursday, 'Israeli occupation authorities have frozen the bank accounts of the Patriarchate and imposed crippling, unjust taxes on its properties.' Such measures threaten the Church's ability to provide spiritual, humanitarian, and community services, constituting a breach of the historic Status Quo and a violation of international law, according to Ramzi Khouri, PLO Executive Committee member and Head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine. He addressed these concerns in a letter to church hierarchs worldwide.
The committee further stated that 'the assault extends beyond financial strangulation.' Lands belonging to the Orthodox Church around the Monastery of Saint Gerasimus near Jericho have been targeted through aggressive settlement expansion. In recent years, new illegal settlement outposts have been established in the Jericho area, threatening its historic and sacred character and forming part of a broader plan to erase Palestine's Christian and historical identity.
The Higher Presidential Committee emphasized that these practices are part of a broader occupation policy aimed at changing Jerusalem's identity, erasing its religious and cultural character, and eliminating the Palestinian presence in the city. The letter concluded with an urgent appeal to churches and Christian institutions worldwide to 'take immediate political, legal, and media action to halt these violations and defend the Church's freedom to carry out its spiritual and humanitarian mission.'
In recent years, Israeli authorities have escalated measures demanding historic churches in Jerusalem pay taxes. Churches also claim Israeli authorities facilitate the takeover of church-owned properties in the city by Israeli settler groups, as seen in the Bab al-Khalil area of Jerusalem's Old City.