Haaretz
Nisan 21, 5765
Several Palestinian protesters and a
police officer were injured on Friday during a protest against a Greek
Orthodox patriarch near the holiest Christian site in Jerusalem, police
and clergy said.
Carrying Palestinian flags, about 500 Palestinians
approached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to protest against Patriarch
Irineos I, who has been accused in media reports of selling Greek Orthodox
Church land in Jerusalem to Jews.
Irineos, who denies the
allegations, had been conducting Orthodox Good Friday mass inside the
church, said Marwan Toubasi, Greek Orthodox Council chairman in the
Palestinian Territories.
Israeli police tried to disperse the
protesters to stop them from reaching the church, sparking clashes that
injured 15, Toubasi said, adding that protesters told him police beat them
with clubs.
An officer was also injured in the scuffle and four
protesters were detained for questioning, police said.
Media
reports that Irineos sold church land in the Holy City to Jews have
angered Palestinians, who see such deals as attempts by Israel to seize
property in Arab East Jerusalem, which they want as the capital of a
Palestinian state.
The Greek Orthodox Church, which is led by Greek
clerics, owns thousands of acres of property in Jerusalem.