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Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas has called on churches and religious institutions in Jerusalem to refuse compliance with an Israeli municipal property tax, warning that the levy represents an unprecedented violation of the city's historic and legal status.
Abbas sent letters to Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordanian King Abdullah II, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and several other European leaders, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The letters outlined what Abbas described as Israeli violations against churches and religious institutions in Jerusalem.
At the center of Abbas's concern is a property levy known as "Arnona," an annual municipal tax imposed by Israel's Jerusalem Municipality on property owners and tenants based on the size, location, and intended use of real estate.
Abbas argued that applying this tax to Christian institutions directly targets Christian presence in the city and constitutes "an unprecedented violation" of Jerusalem's historic and legal standing.
Abbas urged churches to refuse any compliance with the measures or to enter into agreements with Israeli occupation authorities on the matter, warning of risks to the city's legal status and existing bilateral agreements.
"We call on the churches not to accept these unilateral measures or to enter into any agreement with the occupation authorities on this matter," he wrote.
The international community has not recognized Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, which has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967 and is broadly regarded under international law as part of the occupied Palestinian territories. Abbas cited United Nations Security Council resolutions that he said render Israeli measures aimed at altering the character or legal status of the city null and void.
Abbas further argued that Israel's actions do not confer upon it any legal or judicial right of sovereignty over East Jerusalem, a position that applies equally to both Christian and Islamic religious institutions and their endowment properties, known as waqf.
The Palestinian President used the letters to renew his call for an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, describing this as the "only way" to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region. He also appealed to the UN and world leaders to press Israel to halt its unilateral actions in the city and to continue efforts to protect Jerusalem's religious and cultural heritage and safeguard its Christian community.
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