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Greek Orthodox Church loses appeal on leases to settler group

Israel's Supreme Court validated a controversial deal by the Greek Orthodox Church to lease real estate in Jerusalem's Old City to the pro-settlement group Ateret Cohanim.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Metropolitan Theophilos leads Easter Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC136C91C440
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RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Israeli Supreme Court earlier this month ruled against an appeal by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate to rescind a deal to lease three of its real estate properties in Jerusalem’s Old City to Ateret Cohanim, a pro-settlement organization working to establish a Jewish majority in East Jerusalem. The court's June 10 ruling validated Ateret Cohanim's leasing of the properties through three front companies for a renewable 99-year period.

The deal, signed in 2004, was made public in 2005, when Maariv published an article on the lease of the church-owned Petra Hotel and Imperial Hotel, located on Umar Ibn al-Khattab Plaza at Jaffa Gate, and Muzamiya House, in Bab al-Huta neighborhood, north of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Patriarch Iranaios was relieved of his position in May 2005 and demoted to the rank of monk after being accused of permitting the transfer of the properties to the Israelis through former finance director Nikolas Papadimos, who held power of attorney and signed the deals.

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