Jerusalem Patriarch must go, says Palestinian Authority diplomat
AFP
Date: 03-28-05
ATHENS (AFP) - Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irineos I must resign under the weight of accusations that the patriarchate ceded sensitive Old City lands to Jewish investors, the Palestinian Authority's charge d'affaires in Athens Ismat Sabri told AFP.
"Calm must be restored, and this is not possible as long as Irineos remains in power, because his presence creates continuous tension," Sabri said.
Irineos is at the centre of a land sale scandal involving politically sensitive property in Jerusalem. Israel's Maariv daily recently reported that foreign Jewish investors had paid millions of dollars for two hotels at Jaffa Gate in a secret deal with the Greek Church.
A Greek diplomatic source told AFP Monday that a Greek foreign ministry delegation sent to Jerusalem last week to help investigate the land sale controversy is preparing a report noting Patriarch Irineos I's failure to give useful information.
"The report will not be a positive one for Irineos, because he did not collaborate at all," the source said. "He did not provide the documents that were requested (by the Greek delegation)... and the report will reflect that."
Greece is keen to maintain a long-standing influence in the Holy Lands that stems from its strong historical and cultural links with the Jerusalem patriarchy. But although the Greek government stressed Monday the Jerusalem patriarchy's importance for Greece, it kept a careful distance from Irineos himself.
"The patriarchy is a beacon of Orthodoxy ... and should be protected at all costs," deputy foreign minister Panagiotis Skandalakis told reporters Monday. "This is a national issue."
"The crisis in Jerusalem must end with as few consequences as possible for Orthodoxy and Hellenism, and this is the goal on which we are working," Skandalakis said.
Sabri sought to calm Greek fears that the Palestinian Authority wants to 'Arabise' the Jerusalem patriarchy.
"There is no such issue (for us)," Sabri told AFP, responding to questions about a March 22 Palestinian parliament resolution which called on the Palestinian leadership "not to recognise the patriarch", and "to work through legal means for the Arabisation of the Orthodox church".
The Greek team to Jerusalem was led by the head of the ministry's religious affairs section and included legal and finance experts. The foreign ministry source could not give an exact estimate on when the delegation's report will be released.
In a press conference last week, Irineos denied selling church land and argued that if any such transaction took place, the patriarchy will work to declare it null and void. An investigation into the matter is ongoing.
Sabri agreed Monday that the patriarch has not actually sold properties, but leased them for 99 years to Jewish investors. That amounts to "exactly the same thing" for the Palestinian Authority, as both acts lead to a "(Jewish) colonisation of east Jerusalem," he said.
"Any patriarch must understand that there is a red line called 'patrimony cession'," Sabri said. "Effectively, this is Palestinian land."
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