Israeli Police Return to Cows’ Garden, Inflict Damage on Behalf of Xana Gardens

Shortly before noon on April 3, 2024, a troop of around 15 to 201 Israeli police barged into the Cows’ Garden parking lot on the premises of the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter. They forcibly removed two temporary guard lean-tos that had been erected by the Armenian community two months previously, right in front of the community members stationed there on guard, some of whom were also assaulted by police.

The community had erected the temporary guard stations there in the context of an ongoing legal dispute with a shadowy Dubai-based company named Xana Gardens, which has been seeking by any and all means to acquire a large plot of land belonging to the Armenian Patriarchate in the Armenian Quarter (see Questionable Secret Land Lease Deal Threatens Armenian Community Land and Property in Old City). Because the company had repeatedly resorted to forcible aggression starting in late October 2023, when the Patriarchate canceled the controversial land deal and backed that up by filing a legal case in the Jerusalem District Court (see Armenians Launch Legal Battle to Cancel Controversial Cows’ Garden Land Deal), subsequently followed by the community filing a second case, the community has been physically guarding the coveted premises 24 hours a day for months.

An agreement had been reached with the police a month prior to maintain the status quo at the site.2

Israeli lawyer and Jerusalemite Daniel Seidemann, founder of Ir Amim and executive director of Terrestrial Jerusalem, pointed out on X that this action by police is really on behalf of the settlers:

He also pointed to the timing: “This is happening against the backdrop of the carnage in Gaza. That’s not an accident. The settlers hope you won’t notice their incursion into the Armenian Quarter.”4

A communique issued by the Armenian Patriarchate that same day said that when the police arrived, community members on site demanded to see permits or warrants from a court allowing the destruction, but the police did not present any. Rather, police repeatedly responded, “We are here to defend the rights of the workers of Xana Gardens.”5

The communique identified the police officer in charge of the “eviction” as Assaf Harel.

As shown in a video of the incident later posted on X by the Save the Armenian Quarter (Save the ArQ) movement on social media, initially, Harel refused to communicate with Armenian community members, demanding only to talk to the Armenian “Bishops.” But when the Patriarch delegated community activist Hagop Djernazian, standing right next to him, to speak on his behalf (presumably because the interaction was in Hebrew), the police chief waved him off, referring to him to his face as “this thing,” and refused to show any legal document justifying the violence on the property.6

Djernazian, cofounder of Save the ArQ, told Jerusalem Story on April 4, “The police arrived, and they succeeded in changing the status quo on the ground [at the Cows’ Garden], even though they were the ones who said the status quo should remain as it is a month ago.”7 Djernazian said that volunteers from the Armenian community “will continue to maintain presence on the ground, and we continue to guard the area and possess the land, and there are two law suits that are pending in the Israeli courts.”

In its communique, the Patriarchate demanded answers from the police and expressed concern about the significance of the day’s events:

The April 3 attack caught the community off guard, even though they had maintained their round-the-clock presence. The police chief accompanying the unknown individuals allowed them to tear apart the plastic guards’ shed before leaving, thus causing major worry among the population.

Leaders of Save the ArQ held a press conference at the Cows’ Garden later that night, of which they subsequently issued a video on social media. 

During this conference, Setrag Balian and Hagop Djernazian provided broader context for the day’s events, including tracing back the various episodes of violence that have occurred since the lease was canceled last October and providing details on the two legal cases that are pending in the Jerusalem District Court against Xana Gardens.

Balian summed up the key facts about the two legal cases. The first, filed by the Armenian Patriarchate on December 26, 2023, is based on three main arguments:

1. The representatives of Xana Gardens misrepresented themselves and indeed did not even have funds to build the luxury hotel they promised to build.
2. Bribery was a key factor in securing the original signatures on the controversial, now-canceled land lease deal.
3. The Patriarchate was not fully aware of the vast land holdings included in the deal beyond just the Cows’ Garden parking lot. 

The second, filed by the Armenian community with more than 400 signatures on February 18, 2024, was based on the following arguments: 

1. The parties signing the controversial land lease agreement did not have sole authority to do so and thus, the signing did not follow the internal procedures of the Holy Synod [the highest authority in the Orthodox and Oriental Churches] and the General Assembly [the general assembly of the monastic order of the Brotherhood of St. James]. Therefore, it is rendered invalid. 
2. The land in question was established as a Muslim waqf in 1575 by the then Patriarch of Jerusalem. Waqf land can never be leased or sold. 
3. The value offered for the land in the deal was absurdly below fair market price for what may fairly be considered one of the most valuable properties in the world. 

According to Balian, “The Community and Patriarchate law suits do not oppose each other. The latter makes arguments that the former cannot.”9

In a joint press release issued by Save the ARQ on April 6, seven Armenian community organizations including “social, charitable, youth and political clubs and associations” accused the Israeli police of colluding with Jewish settlers to “forcefully change the facts on the ground, and critically endanger our 1600-year-old presence in Jerusalem.” 

They stated forcefully: “To be clear, we declare in one united voice that any transaction regarding the Cows’ Garden is void, threatens our existence as a community, and violates our property rights. The very existence of the Armenian Patriarchate and the Armenian community of Jerusalem is under historic threat.”10

The statement went on to appeal to the international community:

The latest chapter of police and developer collusion against the Armenian community in pursuit of the invaluable land in the Armenian Quarter land elicited responses worldwide. Below is a brief selection.

Dr. Varsen Aghabekian, newly appointed minister of state for foreign affairs and expatriates of Palestine and the first Palestinian Armenian woman to serve in a ministerial capacity, commented on this situation:

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry,13 the Higher Presidential Commission on Churches in Palestine,14 and the French Consulate in Jerusalem15 also issued statements of concern considering the Israeli police act a violation of the status quo in Jerusalem.

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention issued a Red Flag Alert about the Armenian Quarter on April 6. The statement concluded:

Less than a week later, on April 9, Israeli police officer Assaf Harel returned to the Cows’ Garden and again attempted to remove metal fencing and a traffic cone that had been installed three months ago upon the approval of the Armenian Patriarch. Indeed, they had been in place a month earlier when all parties agreed not to change the status quo on the ground at the site given the ongoing legal cases.17 “This entrance has been controlled by the Armenian Patriarchate for three months.

In a comment on Instagram as Harel departed, Balian said: