Christian Arabs and monks clash over Jerusalem land sale

[Amelia]

Christian Arabs and monks clash over Jerusalem land sale

By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem

(Filed: 26/03/2005)

telegraph.co.uk

The Good Friday commemoration in Jerusalem's Old City turned chaotic yesterday as Christian Arabs scuffled with Orthodox monks outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which, according to tradition, covers the exact spot where Jesus was buried and rose again.

Protesters, enraged by claims that the local Greek Orthodox Church has sold property in Jerusalem's Old City to Jewish buyers, spat out the name "Judas'' at monks processing into the ancient church.

With the square in front of the church choked with hundreds of pilgrims, armed Israeli police lunged into the melee. One monk had his traditional, black stove pipe headpiece knocked to the ground and the police ripped banners from the hands of protesters denouncing Patriarch Irineos I, the head of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.

''I was not expecting this on this day of all days,'' said an Irish pilgrim dressed in a soccer shirt. Ireland play Israel today in a World Cup qualifier in Tel Aviv, and many Roman Catholic fans combined sport with devotion by travelling to Jerusalem for the Good Friday commemoration.

The sale of land threatens the delicate balance of ownership that exists within the ancient city walls between Christians, Arabs and Jews.

''We gave the land 2,000 years ago to the Church to look after,'' Omar Harani, the 25-year-old leader of the protesters, said. ''So it is not their land to sell. For hundreds of years we Christians, who used to be 15 per cent of the population, have been persecuted and driven out of the Holy Land and now we are a tiny minority. But we will make our voice heard to stop this sale.''

Scuffles broke out again as the diminutive Patriarch left the church. But the monks surrounding him were burly enough to stop the protesters breaking through.

The clashes marred an otherwise peaceful and colourful day. From dawn, groups of pilgrims, many wearing crowns of thorns and some carrying wooden crosses, followed the 14 stations of the cross on the Via Dolorosa. By noon, parties of Christians from Italy, Ireland, Poland and the Philippines had all followed the route that ends at the Holy Sepulchre, leaving crosses stacked against the wall.

During the four years of the intifada, many Christians have stayed away from the Holy Land. This year, tour guides say they are coming back in increasing numbers.