Historical background

The Armenian Patriarchate’s property called Baron Der is named after a renowned and saintly former Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, Grigor Baron Der (1560­1645), who used it as a retreat for devotion and hermitage. According to historical documents, the property was purchased in 1641 by the said Patriarch who lived there. Since then, it has been used by succeeding generations of Armenian clergy for worship, reclusion, and meditation.

Located north of the Aida Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem, south of Tantour, the Baron Der property consists of approximately 36 acres (143 dunums) of archaeological land with ancient caves and tombs, as well as hundreds of centuries-old olive trees (1,600 trees). In the southern end of the property stands a convent building, which serves as a residence for Armenian monks who officiate in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. In addition, Armenian monks from Jerusalem use the property for annual retreat and spiritual training.

The Issue

Israeli officials first tried to seize a portion of the Baron Der land in early May 2001, when Israeli forces, abruptly and without notification, broke into the convent building. Upon the Patriachate’s complaint, an order of seizure was issued by the Ministry of Defense, not only seizing the property for six months, claiming it was needed for security reasons, but also causing enormous interior and exterior damage to the building and property. Then in late August 2001, despite an immediate attempt by Armenian monks from Bethlehem to prevent it, Israeli forces destroyed the perimeter wall enclosing the Patriarchate’s land, mowed down some of the ancient olive trees with their tanks, and proceeded to build a "temporary" security road 50 meters wide on the site where officials now want to build a more permanent separation security fence.

With the occupation of the convent, the destruction of the perimeter wall and the uprooting of the olive trees, the Patriarchate sent a complaint letter in early September 2001 to Israeli officials of the Ministry of Defense stating that $77,000 in interior and exterior damages had been sustained, asking for withdrawal from the property and compensation for the extensive damage. There was no reply.

Two months later, in December 2001, Israeli authorities responded to the Armenian Patriarchate’s letter of complaint, denying its intrusion into the Patriarchate’s property, and asserting that, in their view, they had never entered the said property and had not caused any of the damages set forth in the Patriarchate’s September letter of complaint. The authorities invited the Patriarchate to write to the committee of insurance and lawsuits of the Ministry of Defense if it had any dissatisfaction.

In January 2002, the Armenian Patriarchate received a letter from the Ministry of Defense, stating that, based on the Patriarchate’s letter of complaint of September 2001, the matter was under consideration.

In March 2002, the Armenian Patriarchate sent a letter requesting a response from the Ministry of Defense as a follow up to the January letter the Ministry had addressed to the Patriarchate. The Patriarchate’s letter went unanswered.

On 21 April 2002, the Israeli military paved a road through the Baron Der property dividing it into two useless plots. In the process of paving the road, the Israeli military destroyed ancient tombs and antiquities and uprooted many more centuries-old olive trees. Israeli authorities stated that the road was only for temporary use, and that as soon as the situation in the region became calm, the area would be restored as before. They also requested that the Patriarchate allow them to lease the Baron Der convent to use as their headquarters. The Patriarchate refused this request.

In June, representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Armenian Patriarchate met at the Baron Der site to discuss the matter. When the Israeli military announced that it was building a security wall, representatives of the Armenian Patriarchate reiterated their demand that the wall be built along the border of the Baron Der property, between the property and the Aida Palestinian refugee camp, so as not to cut the Baron Der property in two. The Israeli side agreed to reduce the width of the road running through the property from 50 meters to 27 meters, but they were not willing to move the road and the separation security wall to the property’s boundary despite the Patriarchate’s consistent demands.

Conclusion

Despite all the efforts of the Armenian Patriarchate to avoid conflicts, and despite all the correspondence of the Patriarchate aimed at reaching a better understanding for a fair agreement on the Baron Der issue, the Patriarchate’s requests have not been granted and its numerous letters have gone unanswered.

Faced with this impasse, the Patriarchate has no alternative but on the one hand to turn to the local and international media, and on the other to mount a formal appeal to Israel’s High Court of Justice against the plan to build the permanent security fence in the middle of its property. It has also appealed to the representatives of other Governments, the United Nations Development Programme, and to members of the Armenian community worldwide.

The private property of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem called Baron Der is a sacred and archaeological site within the region. Since the actions above, the Armenian Patriarchate and its monks have not had the unimpeded use of their property at Baron Der which remains in dispute.