Jordan Times
Friday, April 15, 2005
Jordan, Greece hold talks on
alleged Jerusalem land sale
AMMAN (Agencies) — Interior Minister Awni Yarvas and Greek Deputy Foreign
Minister Panagiotis Skandalakis on Thursday vowed to pursue a probe into the
alleged sale of Greek Orthodox Church property to Jewish investors, the Jordan
News Agency, Petra, reported.
The commitment followed talks between the officials who exchanged views on the
Greek Orthodox patriarchy of Jerusalem, the interests of the Orthodox community
and the best means to safeguard Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
Last month, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that foreign Jewish investors
paid millions of dollars for two large properties at Jaffa Gate in the Old City
of occupied East Jerusalem in a secret deal with the church.
Patriarch Irineos I of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, who has
repeatedly denied any wrongdoing but has failed to quiet calls for his
resignation, pledged in a meeting last month with Yarvas' predecessor to
cooperate with the Jordanian authorities to shed light on the alleged sale,
Agence France-Presse reported.
The patriarch signed a commitment cancelling all powers of attorney given to
dispose of church property in Jerusalem after meeting former Interior Minister
Samir Habashneh on March 31.
During last month's meeting a committee was set up comprising the Jordanian
state prosecutor as well as legal consultants from both the patriarchy and the
Interior Ministry to probe the alleged land sale.
On Thursday, the Greek deputy foreign minister said Israel, Jordan and the
Palestinian Authority should help clarify whether reports of the land sale are
true, a ministry source told AFP.
“Essentially, we want all sides to divulge whatever evidence they claim to have
on the issue,” the source said.
AFP said that Skandalakis, who visited Tel Aviv Wednesday prior to his visit to
the Kingdom, said he secured the commitment of all sides to retain the Jerusalem
patriarchate's Greek character.
The Orthodox community in the Kingdom held a candlelight vigil in Amman last
month gathering prominent figures who called for quick and serious measures to
be taken to investigate the probe.
Meanwhile, Petra reported that a Lower House committee, headed by Deputy Fakhri
Iskandar Daoud and charged with investigating the reported sale or lease of
Orthodox Church property, met on Wednesday with the legal consultant at the
Interior Ministry George Nuzha to review documents on the case.
After deliberations, the committee said Patriarch Irineos had granted Nicola
Papadimas power of attorney to deal with the church's bank deposits and to
deposit or withdraw amounts of money from the bank. The power of attorney also
entitled Papadimas to grant long-term leases of church property.
Based on the information, Iskandar said Papadimas was entitled only to offer
leases and deal with deposits and not to sell church land.
He said the committee has requested the Lands and Survey Department in Amman to
supply it with documents about the church's real estate property in Jerusalem
and Palestine in order to check them against the church documents before further
action can be taken.