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Courtyard pressure mounts
Moscow is increasing pressure on Israel over the future of the Alexander Courtyard in Jerusalem’s Old City as Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov visited the disputed compound on Saturday with a large delegation that included nuns who had traveled from Russia, family members and several embassy employees.
“The visit came days after the Russian Embassy in Israel said the process of re-registering Russian ownership rights over the Alexander Courtyard was in its “final stages””
The visit came days after the Russian Embassy in Israel said the process of re-registering Russian ownership rights over the Alexander Courtyard was in its “final stages” and that the issue was now “purely legal.”
In an interview last week with RTVI, Viktorov said, “The courtyard is ours, Russia’s courtyard. There is no need for negotiations on this. We only need to complete the legal procedures,” framing the remaining dispute as completing legal steps in Israel.
Israeli officials, however, stressed that the matter is still under professional review and that it is too early to determine whether, or when, the process will be completed, while officials familiar with the issue cautioned against interpreting the ambassador’s visit as evidence that a decision has already been made to transfer the compound to Russia.
Nuns hear a deadline
Ukrainian nuns who run the sacred site told the Israeli newspaper Ynet that “Russian religious representatives have already asked: ‘When are you leaving?’”
ANSA Latina also described Viktorov’s Saturday visit to the Alexander’s Patio accompanied by a large delegation of religious figures who had come specifically from Russia, some relatives and several embassy employees.
Ynetnews reported that Viktorov’s remarks suggest Moscow considers the ownership question settled and views the remaining dispute as merely a matter of completing the legal process in Israel, while Israeli officials said the matter is still under professional review.
Officials familiar with the issue warned that alongside the legal and diplomatic process, Moscow is waging a public campaign aimed at creating the impression that the outcome is already inevitable and increasing pressure on Israeli decision-makers, with one assessment that Russia is seeking to exploit the current political window in Israel.
Legal fight and strategic risk
The Alexander Courtyard is described as a historic Russian compound in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City, covering about 1,300 square meters and including the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky, inaugurated in 1896, as well as buildings and archaeological sites of religious and historical significance.
“the Russian Church has historically served as an instrument for advancing Moscow’s diplomatic interests”
Moscow has demanded that Israel recognize an Ottoman-era registration in the name of the “Glorious Russian Kingdom” as granting present-day rights to the Russian Federation, while the organization that established the compound disputes that claim and argues that ownership rights belong to it and do not automatically pass to the Russian state.
A study published last month by Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, written by Ella Itkin and Arkady Mil-Man, warned that the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Israel go far beyond religion, saying the Russian Church has historically served as an instrument for advancing Moscow’s diplomatic interests.
The report also warns that handing over the Alexander’s Patio could provide Russia with a new foothold in the heart of Jerusalem and open the door to future claims on other properties tied to Russian heritage in the Holy Land.