Jewish home in City of David (archive)
Jewish home in City of David (archive)Hillel/TPS

Archbishop Atallah Hanna, a leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, said that "settlement activity in the occupied city of Al Quds" (the Arabic name for Jerusalem) constitutes an existential, historical and cultural threat to the city and its character.

In a newspaper interview, Hanna said that Israel had accelerated its activities in eastern Jerusalem in an attempt to change the character of Jerusalem, its identity and its historical heritage.

He said Israel was investing "hundreds of billions of dollars" in eastern Jerusalem in the purchase of land and the establishment of settlement projects designed to erase the 'Palestinian Arab character' of the city that is in "grave danger."

While Israel's friends around the world are pouring "hundreds of billions of dollars," he said, "the billions of dollars of Arabs are invested in wars, destruction, destruction and terrorism."