Church of Holy Sepulchre opens tomorrow
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netanyahus office said the measures would be suspended pending discussions1 christian leaders in jerusalem said that they would on wednesday reopen the ancient church of the holy sepulchre closed since the weekend in protest at israeli tax measures1 the closure which seemed to be the longest since at least 1990 has left thousands of pilgrims and tourists seeking to visit the site locked outside1 some have kneeled in front of its massive wooden doors to pray on the cobblestones of jerusalems old city1 we hereby announce that the church of the holy sepulchre will be reopened to the pilgrims tomorrow february 28th 2018 at 400 am 0200 gmt said a joint statement by church leaders issued on tuesday night1 the church is built where christians believe jesus was crucified buried and resurrected. custody of it is shared by the greek orthodox armenian and roman catholic denominations1 tuesdays statement was signed by senior clerics of the three faiths in the holy land1 we give thanks to god for the statement released earlier today by prime minister netanyahu and offer our gratitude to all those who have worked tirelessly to uphold the christian presence in jerusalem it said1 christian leaders are in part angry over attempts by israeli authorities in jerusalem to enforce tax collection on church-owned property they consider commercial saying exemptions only apply to places of worship or religious teaching1 the announcement came hours after israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahus office said a professional team would be appointed to resolve the financial dispute1 israeli regional cooperation minister tzachi hanegbi will also look into the issue of land sales in jerusalem by christian bodies1 during that time a proposed law that christian leaders say would allow israel to expropriate church land is to be shelved the statement said1 an official of the roman catholic custody of the holy land welcomed the prospect of talks with the israeli authorities1 from the beginning we said that we have duties to have a dialogue and not let ourselves be forced to make drastic decisions he told afp1 dark period1 jerusalem mayor nir barkat says the city is due 650 million shekels 186 million152 million euros in uncollected taxes on church properties1 he stresses the church of the holy sepulchre and all other churches are exempt with the changes only affecting establishments like hotels halls and businesses owned by churches1 christian leaders say the measure jeopardises their ability to conduct their work which also includes social services to those in need1