ANCA welcomes U.S. Sec of State`s visit to Church of the Holy  Sepulcher

ArmInfo. The Armenian National Congress of America (ANCA) has posted the following message on its X account:

"The ANCA welcomes Sec[retary Marco] Rubio's visit to the Church of  the Holy Sepulcher - the site where Jesus Christ was crucified,  buried, and resurrected - amid growing threats to the 1,700+ year  Armenian Christian presence in Jerusalem. 

"Custody of the Church is shared among several Christian  denominations, primarily Armenian Apostolic, Greek Orthodox, and  Roman Catholic (Latin)."

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem reported on February 17 that  Rubio had visited the Temple of the Lord in the morning.

It should be added that over the past two years, the Armenian quarter  of Jerusalem has been periodically attacked by the Israeli police and  settlers. This is due to the fact that in July 2021, the Armenian  Patriarchate of Jerusalem signed an agreement with an Israeli  company, giving it the right to build a luxury hotel on the site of  the "Cow Garden", with the right to demolish several historical  buildings. The Patriarchate canceled the deal after protests from the  Armenian community, as well as the Palestinian Authority authorities.  After that, attacks began on the Armenian community and an attempt to  forcibly seize the property of the Armenian Patriarchate in the Old  City.

The aggression of the Israeli police was previously condemned by the  Consulate General of France, the Russian Foreign Ministry, and the  Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of Genocide.

In turn, the Save the Garden Movement called on all international  organizations to put pressure on the Israeli government to resolve  this situation, which threatens the 1,700-year-old presence of  Armenians in the holy city of Jerusalem.