By Stephen Farrell

JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – The Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem accused radical Israeli groups in Israel of threatening Christians’ presence in Jerusalem. These remarks were rejected by Israeli officials as unfounded.

Theophilos III of His Beatitude stated in a Saturday column in The Times of London that the purpose of the attack was to remove the Christian community of Jerusalem’s Old City. The Old City contains sites which are sacred to Judaism Christianity Islam.

Israel took East Jerusalem and its Old City in 1967. It also captured the West Bank of Gaza Strip. In a move that was not recognized by the international community, it annexed East Jerusalem.

In the article, which was published just one day after the Christmas Greek Orthodox celebration, the patriarch said that Jerusalem’s presence is at risk.

Israeli fringe groups threaten our churches. He said that the Zionist extremists are causing great suffering for the Jerusalem Christian community.

Hate crimes are a common occurrence among our brothers and sisters. Our churches are often desecrated, vandalized and vandalized. The intimidation of our clergy is frequent.”

Theophilos was more direct and passionate in his criticism of extremists by naming them Israeli. This is in contrast to a group statement made before Christmas by heads of all other Jerusalem churches.

They spoke about “frequent and sustained attacks from fringe radical groups”, but did not identify them as Israeli.

According to a U.S. State Department report on religious freedom in the world, Christian pilgrims and clergy continue to report incidents of Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Jews harassing or spewing on them.

Since time immemorial, church groups have reported vandalism against religious sites within the city. Theophilos has not named any radical organizations or mentioned specific incidents. Theophilos did not prove that the group was Israeli or that they sought to expel Christians from the city.

A senior Israeli official claimed that the actual situation for Christians on the ground was very different to what the patriarch had described. He cited a Foreign Ministry statement from Dec 22, which refuted the claims of earlier church leaders.

According to the ministry statement, “Israel has always been committed to the freedom of worship and religion for all faiths as well as to the free access to holy places.”

“The Church Leaders in Jerusalem’s statement is especially infuriating, given the silence they have displayed on the dire situation of the many Christian Communities in the Middle East that are subject to discrimination and persecution.”

Theophilos wrote in his column that the “radicals” he criticised were “not representative of Israel’s state or its Jewish people.” He also called for Jerusalem to continue being a “mosaic community,” which includes Judaism Christianity Islam Islam and Christianity.

(This story rectifies a dropped word from the headline.