The battle for prime land in Jerusalem: request to stop its sale rejected
The Jerusalem District Court rejected a request by a group of investors to prevent the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate from selling land in the center of Jerusalem. The Supreme Court subsequently rejected the appeal.
The Jerusalem District Court rejected a request by a group of investors led by Adv. Yehuda Talmon to prevent the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate from selling land in the center of Jerusalem. Subsequently, the Supreme Court also rejected the appeal filed by the investors. Parallel to the request for an injunction, a lawsuit was filed, which is expected to be heard later.
The dispute concerns a plot of land of about 5 dunams on Emil Botta Street, near the King David Hotel and the French Embassy. The connection between the parties began in 1999, when the Patriarchate signed a combination deal on the land. According to the agreement, the investors were supposed to receive the proceeds from an area of about one dunam, on which about ten apartments were planned. The deal with the Avital Nechasim company did not go through, and later a similar deal was signed with Nof Tzamarot, which was also not realized. The investors claimed that they recently discovered that the church is working to sell the land to a foreign company registered in the Virgin Islands, and requested an injunction to prevent its sale to a third party.
Judge Avigdor Dorot rejected the request and criticized the investors. According to him, the request was filed with a delay that is inconsistent with the claim of urgency:
"The applicant's delay indicates that there is no real urgency justifying the court's early intervention."
The judge also referred to the fact that the investors did not mention in the request and affidavit the combination agreement signed with Avital and the legal dispute ongoing between them. According to him, these are "material and relevant facts that were apparently concealed," and in light of this, he determined that the chances of the lawsuit are low and do not cross the threshold required for granting an injunction. It was also determined that the investors should have joined the Pyro company to the proceedings, to which the Patriarchate sold part of the rights to the plot.
The Patriarchate owns many lands in Jerusalem, and in the last two decades has sold some of them or entered into combination deals. These moves have raised concerns among lessees living on church lands, mainly in Talbiya and Rehavia. The church owns about 570 dunams in the heart of these neighborhoods, on which about 900 apartments, hotels, and public institutions have been built. In 2022, the church signed a deal with American developer Gary Barnett, and following it, concern arose among the lessees regarding the future of their homes upon the expiration of the lease agreements. Currently, contacts are taking place between the lessees and the company on this issue.
