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Jerusalem churches fight new settlement plan

Church heads and officials in Jerusalem are fighting an Israeli plan to expand a national park on the Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem, where dozens of churches and Christian sites are located.
Church of All Nations and Mary Magdalene Convent on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel.

In an Israeli attempt to fight the Christian presence on the Palestinian territories and deny Christians their rights and status in Jerusalem, the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority sought to implement a settlement project by expanding the Jerusalem Walls Park on church lands, located near the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.

The move was seen as an attempt to encroach on east Jerusalem by expanding Jewish residential and archaeological projects at the expense of Muslim and Christian sites and sanctities in the city. The plan was widely condemned by church heads who sought to garner international support to oppose Israeli plans, since they were seen as a deliberate attack on the Christians of Jerusalem.

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