September 7, 2002 - 00:11 AMT
CERTAIN DIFFICULTIES PRESENT IN ALIENATION OF JERUSALEM ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE LANDS
Israeli supreme legal court has not yet passed a decision on alienation of the Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate lands to build a security fence between Israel and Palestine, as negotiations between the Patriarchate and the Israeli defense army are still in process. Jerusalem Armenian Patriarch, Archbishop Torgom Manukian told Armenian Assembly of America about it. In his words, the army command has agreed to build the wall along the southern border of the Patriarchate territory, not in the middle as planned before. Nevertheless, there are certain difficulties in this regard, which are discussed at present. The question is the following, "to narrow the width of the land lot necessary to build the wall" and demand compensation for damage caused by the Israeli defense forces to the Armenian church estate. The Patriarch expressed hope for the problem to be solved justly, but noticed that the negotiations are at a rather "sensitive" stage.