Pope Shenouda denies permitting Copts to visit occupied Jerusalem

The patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Shenouda III on Sunday denied he will permit Copts very soon to visit the occupied city of Jerusalem under the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

In a statement, the Pope said "these rumors are for commercial purposes of companies which started promoting for Copts' travel reservations on the occasion of the fall of the Easter." He renewed his assertion he will not visit "Jerusalem, except with the Grand Mufti of al-Azhar."

Some tourism companies made use of the positive atmospheres of Egyptian- Israeli relations just recently, especially after the return back of the Egyptian ambassador to Tel Aviv, and the launch of peace understandings in Sharm al-Sheikh, and alleged that the Pope is about to lift the embargo on visiting Jerusalem.

Pope Shenouda banned the Copts from visiting occupied Jerusalem and indicated previously that such a visit is considered a normalization with Tel Aviv wich the Israelis will benefit from in achieving economic progress.