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Last update - 20:12 04/05/2009
Peres wants to hand over Christian sites in Israel to Vatican
By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Tags: Israel News, Pope Benedict 

President Shimon Peres is urging the government to yield control of key Christian holy sites to the Vatican, a position that is believed to be opposed by Interior Minister Eli Yishai.

The Vatican's longstanding demand that Israel transfer sovereignty of key Christian sites to the control of the Holy See has created dissension among senior officials in Jerusalem.

The Interior Ministry has vowed to retain control of the sites, calling relinquishment a "sacrifice" of Israeli sovereignty.
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"This matter is under the minister's authority, and he is not prepared to sacrifice Israeli sovereignty, even if it is only symbolic," Yishai's spokesman Roi Rachmanovitch said.

Peres is pressing the government to agree to the Vatican's request that Israel surrender control of six religious sites, among them the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth; the Coenaculum on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, where Jesus is said to have held The Last Supper; the Gethsemane, which sits at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem; Mount Tabor; and the Church of the Multiplication, which hugs the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee.

Peres is lobbying Yishai to concede the sites to the Catholic Church, Army Radio reported.

"If we were sure that this great gift to the Christian world would bring millions of Christian pilgrims here, then we would have a good reason to think about [agreeing to the demand]," Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov told Army Radio. "But since we are not certain that this will happen, why should we hand out gifts?"

The dispute between Jerusalem and the Holy See threatens to cast a pall over next week's historic visit to the Holy Land by Pope Benedict XVI. Vatican officials have made clear that they intend to reiterate their demand during the visit that Israel hand over control of the Coenaculum, Army Radio reported.

Israel gears up for papal visit

The police and the security establishment have no specific information about potential attacks targeting Pope Benedict XVI, who is scheduled to visit Nazareth on May 14, the northern district police commander said on Sunday.

Speaking at a briefing ahead of the pontiff's visit, Maj. Gen. Shimon Koren said the police will deploy thousands of personnel around the site of the planned mass on Precipice Mountain and at the Basilica of the Annunciation.

The police and the Shin Bet are providing security for the events.

Koren also said that as of Sunday, no requests had been filed to demonstrate against the Nazareth visit. The police will approve protest requests so long as they do not overshadow or disrupt the pope's visit, he said.

Senior police officers at the briefing included Amakim district head Brig. Gen. Zohar Dvir, who will be responsible for security at the basilica, and coastal district head Brig. Gen. Ronny Atias, who will be in charge of securing the mass on Precipice Mountain.

Starting May 13, police will block access to the sites and their approach roads. However, Koren said tourists and pilgrims in Nazareth will be allowed to move freely.

The services at the two sites are invitation only; invitees will be shuttled to the sites from pick-up points.

The Foreign Ministry on Sunday launched a Web site dedicated to the pope's visit.

The site - http://popeinisrael.org.il - is in eight languages (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Italian, German and Hebrew) and contains textual and audio-visual information on the papal pilgrimage, Israel-Vatican relations, and Christian communities and holy sites in Israel.
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  1.   Comment 10:01  |  philtlucre 04/05/09
  2.   There Must be A Goodwill Gesture 10:03  |  Yishai Kohen 04/05/09
  3.   query 10:11  |  potobac 04/05/09
  4.   The place has King David`s grave 10:13  |  Meir 04/05/09
  5.   To those who think Land for peace is good 10:34  |  Paul 04/05/09
  6.   NO PROPERTIES FOR THE VATICAN 10:59  |  Alka Seltzer 04/05/09
  7.   more demands from the phoney baloney roman 11:06  |  v hardman 04/05/09
  8.   vatican demands 11:18  |  sharon 04/05/09
  9.   More subversion of Israel from the same man who brought Oslo disa 11:53  |  Absolute Sweden 04/05/09
  10.   Setting the record straight 11:55  |  Davids 04/05/09
  11.   Wrong argument 11:56  |  Bob 04/05/09
  12.   Vatican doesn`t want to recongnize ... 12:11  |  Gershon 04/05/09
  13.   Other Xtian Groups may also have claims.. 12:13  |  Gershon 04/05/09
  14.   Vatikan and Chapter 11 12:40  |  Alka Seltzer 04/05/09
  15.   One who turns over property in Israel to non Jews 12:54  |  Jew 04/05/09
  16.   Peres is a compulsive land-giver--what will the Vatican give us? 12:58  |  IW 04/05/09
  17.   No President Peres No 13:05  |  rich 04/05/09
  18.   and in Jordan?? 13:06  |  ron 04/05/09
  19.   G-D FORBID ?? 13:09  |  Bill 04/05/09
  20.   #9 davids misses the point on a vote?no other instance of claimed 13:10  |  v hardman 04/05/09
  21.   Perski and Ratzninger. 13:11  |  Jake 1948 04/05/09
  22.   "treasure trove" 13:15  |  potobac 04/05/09
  23.   What, Israel Isn`t Also Christian? 13:16  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 04/05/09
  24.   Peres is right on...Israel should relinquish imperial ambitions.. 13:32  |  Esther 04/05/09
  25.   Rome doesn`t own Christianity 13:46  |  American 04/05/09
  26.   Peres is wrong 13:49  |  Brod 04/05/09
  27.   public pressure will give gov ammunition to refuse 13:53  |  Anony Pony 04/05/09
  28.   I agree, just little correction: 13:58  |  17 04/05/09
  29.   Here`s a deal back for the Vatican 13:58  |  J K 04/05/09
  30.   #12 14:10  |  PCR 04/05/09
  31.   The Pope must be visiting 14:40  |  Chris Linthwaite 04/05/09
  32.   Peres is senile 14:42  |  Eli 04/05/09
  33.   Nothing to add to ben Avraham´s post but what would be the answer 15:16  |  Jew- and Bookburner 04/05/09
  34.   jewish sites in europe 15:18  |  gadot 04/05/09
  35.   They fought over the holy places 15:19  |  Anonymous 04/05/09
  36.   Pope needs to return stolen Temple artifacts 15:24  |  sam 04/05/09
  37.   Peres wants to hand over Christian sites in Israel to Vatican 15:24  |  steve 04/05/09
  38.   #12 15:27  |  wow! that sounds 04/05/09
  39.   Anti-Catholic Posters 15:38  |  Anonymous 04/05/09
  40.   A trade 15:43  |  Berry 04/05/09
  41.   Auschwitz and good wills 15:43  |  Ugo Luzzati 04/05/09
  42.   American Christians 15:50  |  Uncle Sam 04/05/09
  43.   The Vatican - Bahh ! 15:53  |  Unchel Ben Joseph 04/05/09
  44.   What About The Eastern Orthodox Churches? 16:12  |  Jeff Northridge 04/05/09
  45.   # 15 jew 16:21  |  Axel 04/05/09
  46.   Peres again 16:24  |  Igor 04/05/09
  47.   The vatican keep selling off property to pay priest sex offender 16:24  |  ks 04/05/09
  48.   Unchel Ben Joseph 16:31  |  Michael 04/05/09
  49.   Returning Properties to Vatica 16:41  |  Joe Ziv 04/05/09
  50.   christian sites handed over to vatican 16:44  |  fiona chitayat 04/05/09
  51.   Stalin would have asked "how many tanks does Vatican have?" 16:48  |  S 04/05/09
  52.   Peres AGAIN offers up our sovereignty 17:05  |  Arie 04/05/09
  53.   Anonymous: "anti-Catholic posters" 17:08  |  Arie 04/05/09
  54.   Holy Sites 17:25  |  Naim S. Mahlab 04/05/09
  55.   Are Israel`s cultural heritage Peres`s to give away? 17:31  |  Alicia 04/05/09
  56.   The Jews of Italy, Brazil, Argentina, France, the Catholic World 17:50  |  Argentine 04/05/09
  57.   Peres and his verbosity 17:55  |  norman a blumberg 04/05/09
  58.   Anti-Catholicism...; 18:01  |  Deacon2 04/05/09
  59.   #39 is the truth prejudicial anonymous? i have traced my family 18:02  |  v hardman 04/05/09
  60.   Peres 18:20  |  Nechama 04/05/09
  61.   No Gentiles Will Rule in Israel Again! 18:40  |  Z 04/05/09
  62.   "argentine": Your argument is dubious at best 18:43  |  Arie 04/05/09
  63.   Arie - Actually the Catholic church 18:46  |  American 04/05/09
  64.   #15 Jew, well, thanks for pointing that out 18:48  |  ballistic 04/05/09
  65.   Z - That is fine BUT 18:49  |  EURO 04/05/09
  66.   Z - Your anti"gentile" torah CREATES anti-semitism 18:50  |  Historian 04/05/09
  67.   Naim S. Mahlab - But more jews live in Catholic countries 18:52  |  Historian TpP! 04/05/09
  68.   Jerusalem belongs to all the Jewish people 18:53  |  Nechama 04/05/09
  69.   American:" Arie - Actually the Catholic church" 19:08  |  Arie 04/05/09
  70.   The sites are under Jewish sovereignty where they belong 19:20  |  Nechama 04/05/09
  71.   give away give away whsat do we keep? 19:24  |  HIlda 04/05/09
  72.   The pope claims to come in peace & makes such demands? 19:27  |  Nechama 04/05/09
  73.   Uh oh 19:52  |  Mark Lincoln 04/05/09
  74.   Narrow Mindedness & Short Term Considerations of Israeli Leaders 19:59  |  Robert 04/05/09
  75.   Jake 20:09  |  Connie 04/05/09
  76.   is Peres OUT OF THE MIND???? 20:35  |  Ben 04/05/09
  77.   Forge Normal Relationship With Christians - Ignore Vatican 20:38  |  YesToReforms 04/05/09
  78.   christian sites for RK church 20:39  |  Angel 04/05/09
  79.   Peres to Vatican 20:40  |  Sarah 04/05/09
  80.   why not be pilgrims and just visit ? 20:48  |  simpatico 04/05/09
  81.   why is the vatical still holding the stolen Menora ?? 20:51  |  simpatico 04/05/09
  82.   Let`s give the Vatican ...Peres. 20:51  |  Zev 04/05/09
  83.   Control or transfer sovereignity? 20:56  |  Beni 04/05/09
  84.   Mark Lincoln - Correction 21:38  |  US Guy 04/05/09
  85.   Nechama - And the western WORLD belongs to only Christians 21:44  |  DEAL! :) 04/05/09
  86.   more fighting over old superstitions 21:48  |  Rafael 04/05/09
  87.   Interesting choices for the eight languages 21:49  |  Colin Wright 04/05/09
  88.   Come to think of it, sudden generosity about Christian sites... 21:53  |  Esther 04/05/09
  89.   Peres wants to hand over 21:58  |  Tor Marius Gauslaa 04/05/09
  90.   American Christians.. 03:18  |  Vicki 05/05/09
  91.   Most xtians are not catholic 04:35  |  CGF 05/05/09
  92.   #76Ben,My thought exactly-Peres out of his mind but that`s what h 08:17  |  Susanna/Shoshana 05/05/09
  93.   there is a reason why catholics are called ROMAN because Italy,is 08:41  |  Susanna/Shoshana 05/05/09
  94.   Ugo Luzzati 18:29  |  Kim 05/05/09
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