Another land conflict has flared up in Jerusalem between Jewish settlers and the Greek Orthodox Church.

The property in question is located south of the old town in East Jerusalem's Silwan district.

According to the Jerusalem Patriarchate, members of the Elad organization, which is close to the settlers, took over a property there on Tuesday.

Heavily armed police escorted them as they entered the compound west of the Pool of Shiloah, which dates back to the 8th century BC.

The site has historical and religious significance for both Jews and Christians.

Christian Meier

Political correspondent for the Middle East and Northeast Africa.

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The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate issued a statement condemning the takeover by an "Israeli radical group".

This has "no right or judicial support" for occupying the approximately 0.5 hectare site, it is said.

The Patriarchate went on to say that the property had been rented to a Palestinian family since the early 1900s, who have managed it to this day.

According to a report by Jerusalem specialist Daniel Seidemann, several members of the family were arrested the evening before or the morning of the takeover.

Years of court cases

The legal assessment of the incident is likely to be decisive for its further course.

However, many details are still unclear.

In early December, Seidemann reported on his blog about plans to take over the property.

He wrote that the affected area was part of a controversial real estate deal dating back to 2004.

This led to land belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem being transferred to the settler organization Ateret Kohanim.

The organization, which seeks a Jewish majority in East Jerusalem, gained control of several buildings in the Old City, including the Imperial Hotel and the Petra Hotel.

The incident sparked years of lawsuits as the patriarchate attempted to outlaw the deal.

The church claims a corrupt employee was responsible for the transactions, which were completed at unusually low prices.

The incident led to great tensions within the patriarchate and in 2005 to the removal of the then patriarch, Irenaios.

So far it is unclear why it has only now become known that the property that has now been taken over was apparently also part of the deal at the time, why the settlers waited 18 years and why the Elad organization claimed the area.

The Patriarchate writes that in 2008 there was an attempt by the city administration to take over the site.

Legal action was taken against this, only to find that an Israeli organization had claims to the property.

The Israel Antiquities Authority issued a press release on Tuesday stating that, in cooperation with Elad, the Pool of Shiloah will be completely excavated and at the same time made publicly accessible.

According to its statement, the Patriarchate believes that the time of the takeover of the property was not chosen by chance.

It was a reaction to the church leadership's recent criticism of the "expansionist" actions of settlers in Jerusalem.