Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem denies involvement in controversial land sale

The head of Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Church has denied that he had any role in selling church land to Jewish investors, but Patriarch Irineos I said he would work to cancel the deals that have enraged Arabs. Irineos made the comments after talks with officials in Jordan, which is the custodian of the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church and had come under pressure to investigate the reported land sales. "I can say that these allegations are lies. I would like to confirm that I did not carry out any property deal and I confirm that even if such a thing took place through fraud or any other manner then we will coordinate with the legal consultants to annul these illegal measures," Patriarch Irineos told reporters. Newspaper reports that church land in the Holy City had been illegally sold to Jews have angered Palestinians. They see such deals as attempts by Israel to gain control of property in Arab East Jerusalem, which they want as the capital of a future Palestinian state.