ArmInfo.The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem announces the cancellation of the deal for the the historical Armenian Garden known as the Cows' Garden (Goverou Bardez) estate in the Holy Land. The head of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Father Agan Gogchyan, announced this.
"The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem announces that a letter was sent on October 26, 2023 to Xana Gardens Ltd. whereby the Patriarchate informed Xana Gardens of the cancellation of the agreement signed on 8/7/2021 regarding the Armenian Gardens in the Old City, Jerusalem," he noted.
The Cows' Garden is located on the historic Mount Zion, in the southwest corner of Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter. Back in November 2021, the Supreme Spiritual Council under Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin discussed the issue of leasing the Cows' Garden estate of the Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate and called for the cancellation of this decision.
On June 8 of this year, the Associated Press prepared a large material about this case and the situation in which representatives of the Armenian community found themselves.
"In Jerusalem, the hottest spot in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a scandalous real estate deal has caused panic in local historic Armenian community. For months, residents have been trying to figure out whether they will lose their homes to a mysterious investor. The 99-year lease of some 25% of the Old City's Armenian Quarter has touched sensitive nerves in the Holy Land and sparked a controversy extending far beyond the Old City walls. The fallout has forced the highest authority of the Armenian Orthodox Church to cloister himself in a convent and prompted a disgraced priest who is allegedly behind the deal to flee to a Los Angeles suburb. Alarm over the lease spread in April, following a surprise visit by Israeli land surveyors. Word got around that an Australian-Israeli investor, whose company sign appeared on the site, planned to transform the parking lot and limestone fortress of Armenian apartments and shops into an ultra-luxury hotel.
As anger, confusion and fears of possible evictions mounted, the Armenian patriarchate - the body managing the community's civil and religious affairs - acknowledged that the church had signed away the patch of land. The Armenian patriarch, Nourhan Manougian, alleged that a now-defrocked priest bore full responsibility for the "fraudulent and deceitful" deal that the patriarch said took place without his full knowledge. The admission inflamed passions in the Armenian Quarter, where activists decried the deal as a threat to the community's longtime presence in Jerusalem. Jordan, with its historic ties to Jerusalem's Christian sites, said it feared for the "future of the holy city."
Palestinian officials accused Manougian of helping Israel in a decades-long battle between Israel and the Palestinians over a city that both sides claim as their capital. For Palestinians, such struggles over real estate are the centerpiece of the decades-old conflict, emblematic of what they see as a wider Israeli effort to remove them from strategic areas in east Jerusalem.
In a dramatic move, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II suspended recognition of Manougian, the patriarch who has served for the past decade in what is normally a lifelong position. That renders him unable to sign contracts, make transactions and make decisions in the Palestinian territories and Jordan. The priest who coordinated the deal, Baret Yeretsian, was deposed, assaulted by a mob of angry young Armenians and whisked away by Israeli police before seeking refuge in Southern California. Manougian has barricaded himself in the Armenian convent, unwilling or unable to be seen publicly, according to residents.
While the Armenian church has refused to disclose details about the sale, Yeretsian identified the investor as Australian-Israeli businessman Danny Rothman. As the church's real estate manager, Yeretsian said he was acting at the request of the patriarch."
The project, he added, would be managed by the One&Only hotel company based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, which established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020" , AP has learned.
This deal with the United Arab Emirates, which recently established diplomatic relations with Israel, appears to be one of the largest (controversial) deals made under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
At the same time, the Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment, noting that the issue was politically sensitive. The Dubai-based company also did not comment on the current situation, only saying that it is always looking for opportunities to expand its portfolio of luxury hotels," AP reported in early June.