DaysofPal- Dimitri Diliani, head of the National Christian Coalition in the Holy Land, stated that Israeli policies have not only targeted Palestinian presence but have also extended to Christian properties and endowments in Jerusalem and across the Palestinian territories.
In a statement to SANAD News Agency on Wednesday, Diliani described these policies as part of a systematic approach aimed at weakening the national and historical presence of the Palestinian people in all its components.
He explained that the Greek Orthodox Church has historically been one of the largest landowners in Palestine.
However, over the decades, large portions of its land have been subjected to various forms of Israeli control or confiscation, either directly or through legal and administrative measures that limit the ability of their owners to use or develop them.
Diliani noted that these policies go beyond direct land confiscation, including the reclassification of large areas as natural reserves, green zones, or military training areas.
Such designations prevent construction or investment, restricting the ability of church institutions to benefit from their lands and negatively affecting their national, social, and historical roles.
Among the most prominent Christian properties affected, he said, are extensive lands belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem and the western parts of the occupied city, in addition to church endowments located in areas reclassified as natural reserves or green zones.
Church-owned properties in East Jerusalem have also been impacted by confiscation measures and settlement expansion.
He further pointed out that Christian-owned properties in the Old City and the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem have faced continuous settlement pressure and repeated takeover attempts in recent years, as part of efforts to alter the city’s historical and demographic character.
Diliani stressed that these measures have contributed to reducing the Palestinian Christian presence and weakening the ability of church institutions to preserve their properties and historical mission.
He emphasized that targeting Christian endowments and holy sites is part of broader policies aimed at undermining Palestinian identity in all its national and religious dimensions in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
On Tuesday, Israeli Nature Authority crews closed the entrance to church-owned land belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in the town of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, by placing large stones and rocks at its entrance.
The Jerusalem Governorate described the move as an attempt to impose control over the land and restrict access to it, days after Israeli occupation seized it and surrounded it with fences and gates.
This followed the confiscation on June 15 of a church-owned plot of land measuring approximately 11 dunams near the Al-Bustan neighborhood, after those overseeing it were expelled and the area was enclosed with fences and gates.
Silwan, located south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, has witnessed a rise in Israeli violations aimed at seizing Palestinian land and property, in an effort to impose new realities on the ground and expand settlement presence around the town and the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.
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