Foreign Ministry announcement on the vandalization of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist and Forerunner, in the West Bank

We unequivocally condemn the vandalism perpetrated by unknown persons, on 13 March, at the Monastery of St. John the Baptist and Forerunner, on the West Bank of the River Jordan, as we do all acts of intolerance and vandalism that destroy invaluable religious monuments and strike at the efforts towards mutual understanding and the maintaining of religious pluralism in the Middle East.

Greece recognizes the historical role of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem – which it has always supported – it champions religious pluralism and the peaceful coexistence of all doctrines and religions, and it expects that the competent authorities will make every possible effort to locate and arrest the guilty parties.