The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem was closed until further notice today in protest against the city's new taxation policy, Israeli media reported.
The decision was announced by the churches that manage the shrine, the Greek Orthodox, the Roman Catholic and the Armenian Apostolic.
The decision comes as the legislative committee of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, prepares to discuss a bill that would allow the state to expropriate land sold by churches since 2010.
Churches are also protesting a new policy on municipal taxes on church property in Jerusalem.
Church dignitaries Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilus III, Armenian Patriarch Nurhan Manougian and Curator Francesco Paton wrote a letter criticizing the law and the city's recent move, calling it a "systematic attack on the Christian minority in the Holy Land" and comparing it to anti-Jewish laws in Nazi Germany. .
The Jerusalem municipality claims that it continues to take care of the needs of Christians and their freedom of religion, but "hotels, halls and businesses cannot be exempted from municipal taxes just because they are owned by churches", reported the Associated Press agency.
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