AMMAN — American-Jewish businessman
Gary Brent bought at least 520 dunums of lands owned by the Greek Orthodox
Patriarchate in occupied Jerusalem, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported.
اضافة اعلان
Brent bought
the land for $220 million from its current owners, Nayot Komemiyut Investments,
according to Middle East Monitor.
The deal concluded days ago, and the land sold
includes about 1,000 housing units the neighborhoods of Rehavia, Talabiyeh, and
Nayot, an Israeli newspaper published.
The plots also extend into
large parts of the Valley of the Cross, a rare tract of undeveloped land in the
center of the capital revered as the place where — according to Christian
tradition — the wood was taken to make the crucifix for Jesus, the Times of
Israel reported.
The
Jewish National Fund (KKL) owns the lease on the land till 2052, with an
extension option.
In 2011, the church sold rights to these areas of Jerusalem to an investor
group called Nayot Komemiyut for $20 million.
The KKL holds three leases to
this land signed with the Greek Orthodox Church in 1951 and 1952, each for 99
years. It also subleases this land to more than 1,000 Jerusalemites who have
been affected by the sale.
According to Israeli media, the land in question was at the
center of a complicated
legal battle in recent years.
In 2021, a Jerusalem court ordered the Greek Orthodox
Patriarchate to pay KKL-JNF $13 million, plus $80,000 in costs, to compensate
for the theft of $20 million over 20 years ago by two fraudsters who were
subsequently convicted of embezzling the church.
The ruling was made despite the fact that the patriarchate was
also tricked at the time.
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