A dispute over taxes has erupted into a fresh standoff between Churches and Jerusalem city authorities – with Christian leaders warning their charitable work could be at risk.
The controversy – which centres on Israel’s Arnona property tax – prompted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to appeal to Pope Leo XIV and other international leaders over fears centuries-old exemptions could be at risk.
Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop William Shomali, Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said President Abbas’s intervention was an important reminder of the Church’s historic rights.
