Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has agreed to postpone indefinitely the

government vote on the appointment of Irineos I to the Jerusalem Greek

Orthodox patriarchate. The decision to postpone the government vote on the

issue was due to the firm stands against the appointment taken by Ministers

Limor Livnat (Likud), Effie Eitam (NRP) and Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud).

Irineos' close connections with Yasser Arafat and his anti-Semitic comments

in a letter to the PLO arch-terrorist, first revealed on Arutz-7, along with

his past offers to gift lands held in Jerusalem by the church to the PA, led

to ministerial opposition. In meetings held in recent days, the ministers

informed Mr. Sharon of their vigorous opposition to Irineos' appointment.