After nearly two years of diplomatic efforts, pressure from local and international Armenians, and a weekly protest vigil, the Armenian Patriarchate, which had signed a 98-year lease to an Australian Jewish developer that would have meant the loss of nearly one-fourth of the historic Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, has finally decided to take steps to cancel the controversial deal it signed to lease church property to the Jerusalem municipality and an Australian-Israeli developer.

In a statement, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said the developer has ignored a letter by the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem cancelling the controversial real estate deal and has started demolition works. According to community organizers, following the deal cancellation, about 15 armed settlers broke into the Armenian Quarter and proceeded to knock parts of a stone wall. They also partially destroyed asphalt ground. Several Armenian community members assembled in response and prevented the settlers from carrying out further damage to the property. They vowed to remain guarding the land in a rotation until the matter is solved before Israeli courts.

The violent escalation, allegedly led by Danny Rothman the director of Xana Gardens Ltd, is extremely concerning as it appears to follow the rising trend of settler violence and forced displacement in the West Bank that killed over 100 Palestinians as world attention is focused on Gaza. The “grave existential threat” to the Armenian people of Jerusalem is also exacerbating the dangerous diminishing of the Palestinian Christian population in Gaza and Jerusalem.

The Safdie Architects company announced that it suspended its work on the hotel development in response to the Armenian community's opposition to the project. Kerzner International did not respond to our outreach. No contact information was found for Xana Gardens and its director Danny Rothman; He is, however, quoted in a number of the publications cited here and has been contacted about the allegations by the multiple news outlets.