People visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 11, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas is at it again, once again libeling Israel with the accusation of imposing municipal taxes on churches.

This time he lied to senior the Christian leaders: “Heads and representatives of the churches in the Holy Land.”

Headline: “The president: Preserving the Christian presence in Palestine, whose capital is Jerusalem, is a national priority”

“President Mahmoud Abbas received yesterday (Friday) at the presidential residence in the city of Ramallah the heads and representatives of the churches in the Holy Land…

The president emphasized that Islamic and Christian holy sites must be protected… and condemned the taxes imposed by the occupation (i.e., Israeli) authorities on the churches and their institutions in Jerusalem.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 12, 2026]

This is the second time in three months that Abbas has lied over this issue. In June, he sent a letter to the Pope and many world leaders peddling the same slander.

Then, as now, municipal property taxes being charged are not on churches themselves but on their for-profit commercial properties, such as commercial buildings, hotels, guesthouses, and residential areas. In Israel, such outbuildings and enterprises on church properties are common and for-profit enterprises that are taxed.

Google Reviews of commercial operations on a church property in Jerusalem

In fact, Israeli law categorically exempts all prayer spaces from taxes, but not commercial properties owned by religious institutions.

Abbas’ maneuvers are also in line with the PA’s long-standing cultural appropriation of Christianity — including Jesus himself — for the Palestinian political propaganda, which is an additional offense here.

The author is a researcher at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.