Palestinians protest Greek Orthodox Patriarch

By Aysar al-Iss

JERUSALEM (AA) – Scores of Palestinians blocked the convoy of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Saturday.

Protesters threw eggs at the Patriarch's procession as he arrived in the city to attend Christmas Eve in the Church of the Nativity at midnight.

Demonstrators accuse the Patriarch of signing deals with Israel to sell and rent endowments of the Orthodox Church.

Earlier on Saturday, scores of demonstrators rallied in Bethlehem to call for boycotting the patriarch.

The Greek Orthodox Church owns large amounts of land throughout Jerusalem, including the land Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is built on.

In 2005, the Palestinian-run Petra and Imperial hotels were sold by the church to Ateret Cohanim, a group that works to establish a Jewish majority in the Old City and East Jerusalem.