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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, All Palestine and Jordan Theophilos III Saturday voiced his rejection of an Israeli court ruling over the ownership of a property which belongs to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in the Jaffa Gate area in the Old City of Jerusalem .

Theophilos III told a press conference in Amman that this decade-long legal battle resulted in an unjust decision ignoring clear and established legal evidence provided by the Patriarchate, which made it clear that there was "bad faith, bribery and conspiracy for the benefit of the group of settlers, and this can only be explained as politically motivated."

He pointed out that 40 members of the Israeli Knesset signed two weeks ago a draft law which would seriously limit the churches's rights in freely handling their lands and confiscate them. Such move raises more concerns that the case is being politicized, the Patriarch added.

He stressed that the draft law is a clear attempt to deprive the 2,000-year-old Patriarchate and the other churches of their legitimate freedom and independence, warning that if the bill was passed, it would constitute a clear and serious violation of any international treaty governing the region and an aggression on the freedom of worship.

Theophilos III called for an urgent meeting of the heads of the Holy Churches to coordinate their rejection of the Israeli ruling and respond to such dangerous developments, which will not affect the Christian community in the Holy Land, but all Christians across the globe.

He called on His Majesty King Abdullah II, U.S. President Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Secretary-General of the UN Antonio Guterres and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, as well as all heads of churches in the world and the international community to immediately and urgently intervene to ensure justice and freedom.