The Petra Hostel at Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem, is one of the church-owned properties awarded to the group Ateret Cohanim

Christian leaders in Jerusalem are aghast at an Israeli Supreme Court judgment this week that upheld a secret and dubious deal giving an extremist Jewish settler group ownership of several strategic properties in the Christian quarter of the Old City.

There is a fear among all churches that this will increase pressure on the dwindling number of Christians in the Holy Land and encourage fresh attempts by right-wing Israeli politicians to impose new taxes on the large property holdings of many churches. Christian leaders also fear that settler determination to “Judaise” Jerusalem could accelerate Christian emigration, hollowing out the community and threatening regular worship and age-old Christian festivals.

The ruling comes 15 years after a former Greek Orthodox Patriarch leased four sites, including a hostel