The Greek Orthodox patriarch in the Holy Land announced Saturday that his church will appeal an Israeli court decision that approved the sale of prime church property to companies representing Jews seeking to expand their presence in Jerusalem’s Old City. The Jerusalem District Court upheld the deal two weeks ago, paving the way for three large properties near the Old City’s Jaffa Gate to be leased for 99 years to Ateret Cohanim, a group that has been buying properties for Jews in traditionally Arab areas of Jerusalem. Patriarch Theophilos III alleged Saturday that the lower-court ruling was “politically motivated” and said the church would appeal to Israel’s Supreme Court. Suicide bombing: A suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted a military truck Saturday with a bomb killing eight soldiers and seven civilians in the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta, an official and the military said. Kabeer Khan, an explosives expert who examined the site, said after collecting forensic evidence that it was a suicide attack and that the attacker was carrying some 25 kilograms of “incendiary explosives” on a motorcycle that he rammed into the military truck. Call for ‘revolution’: Deposed Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif called Saturday for “a change and revolution” in the country to ensure the sanctity of the vote as he addressed a large gathering of his supporters in his hometown of Lahore. Concluding his four-day journey, which began in Islamabad and culminated in a rally in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, Sharif was clearly delighted to address the tens of thousands who gathered near the famous shrine of Data Darbar.
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