The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said that it “is under possible the greatest existential threat of its 16-century history. The existential territorial threat fully extends to all the Christian communities of Jerusalem”.

It added in a statement today: “The Armenian Patriarchate has recently cancelled a contract tainted with false representation, undue influence and unlawful benefits. Instead of providing a lawful response to the cancellation, the developers attempting to build on the Cow’s Garden have completely disregarded the legal posture of the Patriarchate towards this issue and instead have elected for provocation, aggression and other harrassing incendiary tactics, including destruction of property, the hiring of heavily armed provocateurs, and other instigation”.

The statement added: “In recent days, the vast destruction and removal of asphalt on the grounds of the Armenian Quarter has been done without the presentation of permits from the municipality by the developer nor the police. Despite this, the police have chose in the last few days to demand that all members of the Armenian Community vacate the premises.

We plead with the entirety of the Christian communities of Jerusalem to stand with the Armenian Patriarchate in these unprecedented times as this is another clear step taken towards the endangerment of the Christian presence in Jerusalem and the Holy Land”.