Deutsche Presse-Agentur
May 31, 2005, Tuesday
07:57:06 Central European Time

Israel to probe Greek Orthodox East Jerusalem lease deal

Tel Aviv

Israeli Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Tzahi Hanegbi has decided
to probe allegations that Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irineos I leased
church-owned property in East Jerusalem to foreign Jewish investors,
a government statement said Tuesday.

The minister decided “in consultation with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
to set up a team to consider the overall circumstances and recommend
what steps should be taken”, the statement said.

Reports of the long-term lease, first published in the Israeli
Ma’ariv daily in March, have caused outrage among Palestinians,
who view the act as collaboration with efforts to “Judaize” Israeli-
occupied East Jerusalem.

Last month, Ma’ariv printed an excerpt of a lease contract,
detailing that in August 2004 finance department director Nicholas
Papadimas, under power of attorney from Irineos I, leased a prominent
Palestinian-run hotel in the Old City of Jerusalem to a third party
for 198 years.

Ma’ariv said the lease takers were Jewish entrepreneurs from abroad.

The Imperial Hotel is one of several properties on Omar Ibn al-
Khattab Square, located between the Christian and Armenian Quarters,
which have been relinquished by the Church under long-term leases.
They are said to include also another hotel, Petra, and several
shops. dpa ok pb