28-05-2025
No, Israel isn't planning to take over a French holy site
A document going around online alleges that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to take back control of the Tombs of the Kings, a sacred site which is under French control in East Jerusalem.
It's been circulating on social media and presents a decision allegedly made by Gideon Sa'ar, Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister.
It suggests that Israel's Foreign Ministry is looking into holding "diplomatic negotiations with the French government," in a bid to transfer the holy site to Israel.
At the top of the document, "Jerusalem Day" is mentioned, an Israeli national holiday which marks the moment when Israeli forces took over East Jerusalem, following the 1967 six-day war.
Jerusalem Day falls yearly in May or June, in line with the Hebrew calendar's month of Iyar.
However, EuroVerify found no proof that the document is real.
In a public statement shared on X, Israel's French embassy refuted the allegations and said it deplores such "fake news."
"We urge everyone to be vigilant when it comes to unsourced information on social networks," it added.
When approached by EuroVerify, France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "We are not aware of any official Israeli approach to this effect. The national domains are the property of the French State."
"This ownership is recognised by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority through international agreements," it continued. "In Jerusalem, France has owned, since the 19th century, four national domains and religious Christian and Jewish sites, whose ownership was recognised by the State of Israel in 1948."
In addition to various Christian and Jewish religious sites in the region, France owns four heritage sites in Jerusalem, under a treaty known as the Fischer-Chauvel agreement.
These sites, including the Tombs of the Kings, are known as the French National Domain in the Holy Land, with some of France's claims over them dating back to the Ottoman era.
The other three are the Church of the Pater Noster (also known as the Sanctuary of the Eleona), the Benedictine monastery in Abu Ghosh and the Church of Saint Anne.
The Tombs of the Kings are believed to be the burial site of Queen Helene of Adiabene, who converted to Judaism around 30 AD and died sometime between 50 and 56 AD. They were originally thought to be the burial place of the kings of Judah.
The French claims are based on the government's purchase of the site from a private owner in 1886. Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time and the Ottoman government officially recognised the sale as legal under its law.
France continued to assert its ownership of the Tombs of the Kings and other sites during the British Mandate and later under Israeli rule.
It and the newly-founded State of Israel drew up the Fischer-Chauvel agreement between 1948 and 1949 to formalise Paris' claim to the sites. However, while Israel acknowledges the existence of the agreement, it has never officially ratified it.
Nevertheless, it has generally respected the privileges associated with the sites and given de facto recognition to French control. The tricolour flag flies over them, and they are administered by French authorities, but they conform to Israeli property law.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Tuesday his country is ready to host a future round of talks between Ukraine and Russia, expressing hope that negotiations will "swiftly lead to a ceasefire, followed by lasting peace."
"We emphasized that we are always ready to host negotiations. We see this as a duty, not just for our region, but for global peace," Fidan told reporters at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
"We have conveyed our request for the upcoming negotiations to take place in Turkey and assured them that we are ready to contribute in every way," he said.
Fidan is on a two-day visit to Moscow where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Earlier this month, delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for the first time since 2022.
The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement.
European leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger army's battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land.
Russia also levelled the same accusations on Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday accused Ukraine of undermining peace efforts by launching a series of drone attacks on Russia this month.
'This action by Kyiv discord with aspirations for peace process,' he told reporters.
Peskov hailed the US peace efforts, saying that 'the Americans and President (Donald) Trump have taken quite a balanced approach.'
'Clearly, the Russian and the American sides mustn't and can't agree on everything, certain disagreements will always remain, but there is a political will to implement the agreements that have been reached and the work is continuing,' Peskov said.
At the same time, Peskov criticised Europe for continuing to provide arms supplies to Kyiv, noting that by this, Europe has become indirectly involved "in the war against Russia,' adding that it 'in no way helps peace settlement" in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Trump's patience appears to be wearing thin. In a post on his own social media platform, Truth Social, the US president warned his Russian counterpart that he's 'playing with fire' amid renewed attacks and stagnant peace talks.
Trump's latest comments came after he called the Kremlin leader "CRAZY" over the weekend following a mass Russian air attack on Kyiv.
"What Vladimir Putin doesn't realise is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD," Trump wrote.
US media outlets speculate that the Trump administration is reportedly considering fresh sanctions against Russia as early as this week, while stressing that the US president could still change his mind.
The reports have not been confirmed by Trump or White House officials, although the 47th US president has repeatedly warned that Washington may abandon peace efforts if talks between the warring sides don't yield positive results soon.
