Israel Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon is visiting the Holy See in a bid to reach an agreement over property in the Holy Land but church ownership of the room in which tradition holds that the Last Supper took place is reportedly off limits. Discussions on the issue will start today, Ynet News reports. The Israeli delegation includes experts from the Justice Ministry and the Finance Ministry, as well as other figures.
The discussions will revolve around the Vatican's demand that it be granted propriety of various Christian sites, tax breaks, and the expropriation of Church properties in Israel.
Israel has already made it clear that it will remain firm in its stance to maintain ownership of the room in which the Last Supper is believed to be held, which is on Mount Zion next to King David's tomb.
However, the delegation plans on showing significant flexibility on the issue of taxes and property fees that the Church has refused to pay for decades and to waive Israel's right to nationalize Church properties, Ynet News says.
In addition, the State will agree to grant members of the Vatican legal status with Social Security and the courts in Israel.
Nineteen of the disputed sites are in the West Bank and 28 are in Jerusalem.
In a published statement, Ayalon said, "They (the Church) will receive certain waivers on expropriation, but not comprehensive ones. We will insist on our right to expropriate property, for instance, for infrastructure purposes. This will be done while maintaining Israeli law and the State's sovereignty."
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