The leaders of several Christian faith groups on Sunday said the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where many Christians believe Jesus was buried, would be closed until further notice.

A statement from Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Church leaders accused Israel of a "systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land."

The leaders voiced consternation with plans to tax church assets that are considered to be commercial.

"As a measure of protest, we decided to take this unprecedented step of closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre," the statement said. It added that the tax changes appeared to be "an attempt to weaken the Christian presence in Jerusalem."

Jesus's tomb site restored to its former glory Now with a warm glow Candles light up the tomb of Jesus inside the newly restored Edicule, or shrine, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Jesus's tomb site restored to its former glory Coming full circle The Edicule from afar: Dignitaries and members of various denominations attended the unveiling ceremony on March 22.

Jesus's tomb site restored to its former glory Rising from the grave Authorities had said in spring 2016 that parts of the Edicule was close to crumbling after centuries of pilgrims visiting the sacred site.

Jesus's tomb site restored to its former glory Freshening things up Restoration experts had to remove the marble slab stone that covered the original tomb since the last restoration of the Edicule in 1810 by Greek architect Nikolaos Komnenos.

Jesus's tomb site restored to its former glory Honoring the site Custody of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is shared by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations.

Jesus's tomb site restored to its former glory Bird's-eye view The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City is pictured in 2016, before restoration work began.

Jesus's tomb site restored to its former glory Inner peace Seeking spiritual connection and peace, each year countless pilgrims visit the shrine considered to house the cave where Jesus was buried and, according the Bible, came back to life three days later. Author: Louisa Schaefer



'Hotels, halls and businesses'

The clerics also expressed concern about legislation being considered by the Israeli government that would allow the expropriation of church property sold to anonymous buyers.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement that the city was owed 650 million shekels ($186 million, €151 million) in uncollected taxes. He stressed that the Holy Sepulchre and other churches were exempt from the taxes and that they would remain so.

Barkat stressed the changes applied only to establishments such as "hotels, halls and businesses" that were owned by the churches.

Christian leaders say the changes mean they will be unable to conduct their social and religious work, including the delivery of social services to those in need.

Custody of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City is shared by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations. Tensions between the groups have impaired restoration work over the past 200 years, but the church was eventually deemed unsafe and only reopened last March after repair work was carried out.

rc/jlw (Reuters, AFP, AP)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.