The Greek government expressed appreciation Wednesday for Israel’s “prompt reply” to its protest over the move by Jewish settlers into a building in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, owned by the Greek Orthodox Church.
A message from Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens promised that the “State of Israel will continue to respect the legal rights and privileges of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem,” Greek government spokesman Vyron Polydoras disclosed at a briefing Wednesday.
Polydoras stressed that the message arrived in record time, since it was only on Tuesday that Foreign Minister Antonis Samaras conveyed his government’s displeasure to the Israeli diplomatic representative in Athens, Moshe Gilboa.
Polydoras said the prompt response was “a result of the pressure put on the Israeli government on the matter.”
Israel’s High Court of Justice was expected to rule Thursday on whether the settlers should be evicted from the church property they claim to have leased.
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