The Greek Orthodox Church has struck a secret deal with Zionists to sell Palestinian properties in the illegally-occupied East Jerusalem in return for "thirty pieces of silver". The deal is likely to be viewed by the overwhelming majority of Palestinians - both Christian and Muslim - as treason of the highest order.

The Greek Orthodox Church has earned millions of dollars in a secret deal to sell two large Palestinian properties at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem's Old City to foreign Zionists, the French news agency AFP reported on 18 March, quoting that day's Israeli newspaper Maariv.

According to the newspaper, a group of ideological Jews looking to "liberate the lands of Jerusalem" paid millions of dollars for a tract of land in Omar Ibn al-Khattab Square just inside Jaffa Gate, which lies at the main entrance to the Old City.

The site is currently home to two landmark properties managed by two well-known Palestinian families: the Imperial Hotel and the Petra Hotel. A row of Palestinian-run shops selling tourist trinkets is situated on the ground floor of the two compounds,

Neither the hotel managers nor the shop owners had any knowledge of the sale, which Maariv said was carried out with money transferred through various European banks.

"Purchasing property in the Old City, which is situated in occupied and annexed East Jerusalem, is fraught with political tensions as Jewish groups often try to obtain properties in the heart of Palestinian areas in a major settlement drive," AFP said.