The head of the Roman Catholic church in the Holy Land
protested Tuesday against Israel's demolition of a church-owned property
in annexed east Jerusalem, saying it eroded chances for peace.
"This act is against the law, against justice and
against humanity, against any ideology upon which peace can be built and
increases segregation and hate," Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad
Tawwal told journalists at the site of the demolition.
Israeli security forces and bulldozers arrived at the
house at 5:00 am (0300 GMT) on Monday with a previously unseen
demolition order, claiming it had been built without a permit, according
to its residents -- a family of 14.
But Tawwal said the property, on Jerusalem's
southeastern edge close to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, had been
standing since before 1967, when Israel seized Arab east Jerusalem in
the Six Day War.
"We didn't receive any orders for the demolition" beforehand, Tawwal added.
"This is holy land and always will be, and the interior
ministry, the (Jerusalem) municipality and Israeli organizations knew it
belonged to the patriarchate."
Tawwal said the church would appeal to Israeli and
international courts over the demolition and had already complained to
the interior ministry and the municipality.
He said it was the first time the Jewish state had demolished property belonging to the church.
Jerusalem municipality's spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.