His Excellency the minister Dr. Ramzi Khoury, Director General of the Palestinian National Fund and President of the Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs met in the Jordanian capital Amman with His Beatitude the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, in the presence of His Excellency the former Jordanian Minister Sami Halaseh and His Eminence Archbishop Christophorus Attallah of Jordan.
The meeting which took place at the Diocese focused on ways to confront the escalating Israeli aggression against the holy city, especially on Al-Aqsa Mosque. The participants stressed the importance of preserving the existing legal and historical status of the holy places, the Hashemite Jordanian custodianship, and the importance of the city for the monotheistic religions.
Dr.Khoury heard from His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III on the legal steps and the international movement of the Patriarchate to preserve the endowments of the Church, especially in Omar ibn al-Khattab’s square / Jaffa Gate and to protect it from the Israeli settlement movement, furthermore on His Beatitudes visit to the United States, which was an important visit in the framework of advocacy and support for the preservation of the Christian presence and endowments and properties belonging to the Greek Patriarchate.
Moreover, they discussed the relationship of the church with its parishioners and the practical steps to stabilize the Christian presence in the Holy Land through housing projects and creating jobs for young people to strengthen the resilience against Israeli policies.
Dr. Khoury thanked His Beatitude the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III and The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher for providing a 15-acres area of land in Beit Sahour to build a hospital that serves the people, in coordination between the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Municipality of Beit Sahour.
They all stressed the importance of holding an international conference within the near future to emphasize the Christian dimension of the Holy Land and reject the Israeli policies that target the Christian and Islamic presence in Jerusalem and specifically the authentic Christians of Palestine.
