Russian President Putin renews request for Israel to transfer Jerusalem’s Alexander Courtyard to Russia

The ownership of the Alexander Courtyard, a 1,300-square-meter disputed area located in the Old City of Jerusalem, in the Christian Quarter and close to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is once more in the headlines.

The area, which comprises the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky, has been at the center of a property rights dispute between Israel and Russia in recent years, which remains unresolved.

The issue was reportedly raised in recent talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A committee of senior Israeli ministers tasked with the matter is expected to reconvene in October, after the issue was postponed following the Hamas assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war on multiple fronts. The ministerial team includes Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, with the National Security Council and the Prime Minister’s Office leading the process.

According to officials, Putin sees the dispute about the Alexander Courtyard not merely as a geopolitical issue but as “a very personal matter.”

According to Ynet News, the Alexander Courtyard “has been under the de facto control of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (OPS) since its founding in 1890. Although the group purchased the land, Ottoman-era records list it under ‘the glorious Russian Empire.’ Moscow has argued that this historic registration proves the property should belong to modern Russia, not OPS.”

The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society is a scholarly society established for “scientific and charitable purposes.”

In 2019, Netanyahu allegedly pledged to transfer ownership of the Alexander Courtyard to Russia in return for the release of an Israeli citizen, Naama Issachar, from a Moscow prison. Issachar had been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for smuggling 10 grams of marijuana.

Then, in October 2020, Netanyahu declared the Alexander Courtyard a holy site under British Mandate era legislation, which effectively shielded the property from regular judicial reviews, according to Ynet. The Israeli government then recommended transferring ownership of the site to Russia, but the OPS objected and filed a legal challenge.

The OPS claimed it had been the sole owner of the compound for more than 130 years and that neither the State of Israel nor Russia had the right to confiscate the property. 

In March 2022, District Court Judge Mordechai Kaduri ruled that only the Israeli government can decide on the property, citing political and religious considerations and Netanyahu’s designation of the compound as a “holy site.”

Israel’s District Court then decided to freeze the transfer, pending a decision by the Israeli government. The ministerial committee is now tasked with preparing that decision.

Putin has regularly raised the transfer of ownership of the Alexander Courtyard with Israeli leaders since Netanyahu first agreed to the transfer.

In April 2022, Putin delivered a letter to then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, demanding that the ownership rights be immediately handed over to Russia, in accordance with Netanyahu’s promise.

Three years later, in August 2022, in a conversation with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Putin again presented Israel with a clear demand to transfer ownership of the Alexander Courtyard to Russia.