A RECENT move by Israel to freeze the bank accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has been criticised by Christian advocacy organisations linked with the Patriarchate.

In a statement carried by The Times of Israel, the Jerusalem Municipality said that the decision had been taken last month because the Patriarchate had been “ignoring letters from the municipality demanding payment” related to assets “not used as houses of worship” and which had incurred tax debts.

The Middle East Council of Churches, of which the Patriarchate is a founding member, described the move as an “assault on its parishioners and on the people of Palestine as a whole”.

The statement continued: “This action paralyses the ability of church institutions to function normally and serve the people, and prevents aid from reaching them at a time when they are most in need of it, given the inhumane conditions endured by the Palestinian people, resulting from the ongoing war against them.”

It is not yet clear how the suspension might affect the Patriarchate’s daily operations, including the payment of staff salaries and priests’ stipends.

Protecting Holy Land Christians, another group close to the Patriarchate, said that the issue relates to a long-standing conflict over Arnona, a property tax.

For decades, Christian bodies with property in the city of Jerusalem have been exempted from tax. The exemptions were overhauled in 2018, when a narrower definition of tax-exempt activities was applied to churches only — properties used for prayer activities or religious education. This did not include church-owned buildings used for commercial purposes. At the time, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre closed for three days in protest.

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Orthodox Times last month that freezing the Patriarchate’s accounts constituted “a blatant violation of the centuries-old rights of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem”.