No, Israel isn’t planning to take over a French holy site

Published on
28/05/2025 – 7:45 GMT+2

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.”

Why does France control certain sites in Jerusalem?

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.