15:58, 6 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The investor who sought to buy some 25 percent of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem has ignored a letter by the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem cancelling the controversial real estate deal and has started demolition works, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem warned Monday.

The party relevant to the cancelled contract, instead of giving a legal response, reacted with the demolition of walls and a parking lot, scraping of asphalt pavements and even threatened to cause more harm, the Chancellery of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said.

“Yesterday they even brought security guards armed with high powered rifles and tactically trained dogs demanding an evacuation of the Armenian presence in the parking lot. As a reaction to this, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, members of the St. James Brotherhood, and members of the Armenian community, gathered in the Armenian Gardens and peacefully expressed their discontent. After a few hours, the two sides agreed to disperse until the Patriarchate receives an answer to their sent cancellation letter,” the Chancellery of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem added in a communique.