JERUSALEM (AP) " The mayor of Jerusalem on Tuesday said he was working with a third party to resolve a tax dispute with major Christian denominations that has led to the closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity's holiest sites, just ahead of the busy Easter season.
Mayor Nir Barkat declined to identify the third party, but expressed hope the dispute would soon be resolved.
"I'm going to negotiate in the right way to hopefully resolve this," Barkat said.
He also said he will seek advice from the national government on how to overcome the impasse.
"But the churches will also have to seek and think of how to work something out," he said. "Naturally not I, not the churches, not the national government are happy with this situation," Barkat said in his office in central Jerusalem.
Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and other Christian leaders on Sunday closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to protest Barkat's decision to force them to pay property taxes.
The church is revered by Christians as the site where Jesus was crucified and resurrected, and is a popular spot with tourists and Christian pilgrims. Christian leaders have said the building will remain closed indefinitely.
Barkat said his order applies only to "commercial properties, such as hotels and office space, and does not affect houses of worship. He said his decision is in line with norms around the world, and called the church's closure "unfortunate."
"As the mayor of the city of Jerusalem, my goal and role is to make sure people pay their taxes," he said. "We have no negative or bad intentions here. Positioning this as if though, God forbid, we have something against the churches is totally unfair."
The churches say their properties are all used for church-related purposes that benefit pilgrims and their local flocks.
They also accuse Barkat of violating a longstanding status quo agreement and acting in an underhanded manner by not notifying them ahead of time about his plans. Church leaders say they learned of the new tax plan through the media.
Barkat brushed aside the accusation, saying the churches have been ignoring paying taxes for years. His office estimates their debts at roughly $185 million.
He urged the Church officials to open the doors to the Holy Sepulchre and take the dispute to Israeli courts.
"Instead of challenging this issue in the courts they decided to close the doors of the church. There's no reason to do that and I recommend them to open the doors," Barkat said.