Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the current conflict with Israel was not religious and that the Palestinians would not be dragged into such dispute.
Abbas received on Wednesday ambassadors from Jordan, the Russian Federation, the European Union, Cyprus, Greece, Argentina, the African Union, Turkey, Chile and Italy, and delivered written messages to Pope Tawadros and Pope Francis, to inform them of attempts by occupation authorities to impose property taxes on the churches of Jerusalem.
“The president discussed Israel’s attempts to impose a property tax on the churches which is unacceptable and a challenge to international legitimacy and the status quo," said Saeb Erekat, the secretary of the PLO’s Executive Committee, in a news conference held in Ramallah.
“The President briefed the ambassadors on Israel’s attempts to seize the lands of Krimzan (a mountain area that belongs to the Church) in Bethlehem, the displacement of 58 families there, and the confiscation of thousands of dunums belonging to Christians in Zababdeh and Jaffna” (villages in the north of the West Bank known to have a Christian majority), Erekat added.
The Palestinian official responded to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that no one served the Christian presence as Israel did, saying:
“In fact, no one has abused the Christian and Islamic existence as successive Israeli governments have done.”
Erekat noted that the president spoke about the importance of Jerusalem to the three religions and praised the Jordanian guardianship over the holy sites, especially in Jerusalem. He also called for the need to stop Israeli practices against the Palestinian people and to preserve the rights of Jerusalem and holy places.
Earlier on Wednesday, the heads of churches in Jerusalem reopened the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, after a three-day closure in protest against the imposition by the Israeli authorities of taxes on church property.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office announced the government’s decision to suspend legislation regarding collecting taxes from churches and their properties. He also set up a special committee to settle the matter with the heads of the churches.
Spokesman for the Palestinian presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeina, emphasized a Palestinian and international demand to preserve the historical and legal status of the holy sites.
