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Arab League condemns Israeli taxes on Jerusalem churches

CAIRO, Feb 26 (KUNA) -- The Cairo-based Arab League on Monday condemned the decision by the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem on collecting property taxes on UN buildings and churches.
In a statement, the League's Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Palestinian and Arab Occupied Territories Sector Saeed Abu Al considered the Israeli move as an "unprecedented aggression" on Jerusalem's churches and an escalation against the holy city and its residents.
The Israeli authorities, through this decision, seek to cancel the conventions signed with Vatican decades ago and to change deliberately and systematically the legal and historic status of the city, he said.
This "dangerous unprecedented move" deprives Jerusalem's churches from carrying out their duties, he noted.
He urged the international community to assume its responsibilities and press Israel to stop its illegal actions against both Christians and Muslims in the holy city and to rescind the taxes decision.
The official also condemned strongly the approval of a draft resolution set by Israeli's extremist justice minister on the annexation of further land from the West Bank and preventing Palestinians from heading to Israeli's supreme council to defend their rights in this matter.
He deplored the endorsement of the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem on building of 300 new settlement units outside the Green line, in addition to the confiscation of thousands dunams from Palestinian land in northern Tulkarm. (end) mfm.asm.hm