Christian leaders urge Netanyahu to nix church lands bill
Christian leaders in Jerusalem urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday to stop a bill that the churches say would allow the state to appropriate land sold to buyers.
Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian church leaders wrote a letter to Netanyahu saying the vote "constitutes a flagrant disregard" of his earlier assurances to block the legislation. The government's Ministerial Legislation Committee will reportedly vote on the bill on Sunday.
The bill's sponsor, lawmaker Rachel Azaria, has said the questionable sales of these properties have plunged thousands of Jerusalem residents into uncertainty over their living conditions.
