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The Israel Antiquities Authority has resumed digging in the Yousufiyah Islamic cemetery with permission from the Israeli court. Palestinians say it is part of a political agenda to “Judaize†Jerusalem.
Israel plans ‘Bible path’ that crosses part of Yousufiyah cemetery
The shaving of the historic Muslim cemetery of Yousufiyah by Israeli authorities in Jerusalem “is more than just a legal matter,” a spokesperson for the Committee for the Maintenance of Muslim Cemeteries – CICA Jerusalem Affairs said on Tuesday.
The committee, which belongs to the Islamic religious foundations -Waqf, is responsible for the administration of Islamic cemeteries in the city. A spokesperson for the committee, who declined to release his name, said The New Arabic that the Israeli court had authorized work on the cemetery based on the Israeli municipality’s claim that it was in an area that did not contain any graves.
“Digging, shoveling and exhuming graves” .. Scenes documenting the ongoing crime of the occupation in the Yusufiyah cemetery in occupied Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/M6Bfsaby6K
– laela karem🇵🇸✊ (@ dx_d0) 25 October 2021
“It was shown to the contrary when the bones of the dead were unintentionally exhumed during a bulldozing two weeks ago,” said the spokesperson for the CICA.
“The Israeli court ignored the evidence and upheld the authorization,†he added. “It is a political decision to change the identity of the city, and it requires political pressure to stop it.”
“Families who fear for the graves of their loved ones”
Palestinians demonstrated in the cemetery on Monday as Israeli bulldozers resumed work in the northern part of the historic part of the cemetery, which could date back to the 12th century.
Video footage has gone viral of a Palestinian woman taken away by Israeli police as she attempted to stand near one of the graves, apparently belonging to her deceased son.
#Israeli the occupation forces have started work to transform part of the Yusufiyah cemetery in the occupied east #Jerusalem in a park. Heartbreaking footage shows Israeli forces trying to mourn #Palestinian mother away from her son’s grave. pic.twitter.com/6Hvyg0lpny
– Hamza Tariq (@TariqhamzaNZ) 25 October 2021
“The woman was trying to protect her son’s grave, believing that it would be destroyed by bulldozers,” said the spokesperson for the CICA.
“This exact grave has not been targeted by bulldozers, but Palestinian families in Jerusalem are very afraid for the graves of their loved ones, as many graves have already been dug by Israeli bulldozers.”
A local source said The New Arabic that Palestinians continued to demonstrate at Yousufiyah cemetery until Tuesday evening, as Israeli police used stun grenades to force protesters away from the excavation work.
القنـ.ـابل الصوتية .. ا هاجمت قوات الاØتلال الأهالي المقبرة اليوسÙية عقب اØتجاجهم على اعتقال الشاب ليث الشلبي pic.twitter.com/4HwI3wybsr
– AlQastal القسطل (@AlQastalps) October 26, 2021
The part of Yousufiyah cemetery that is under Israeli construction contains graves of Arab soldiers killed in the 1967 war, some of which are unmarked, as well as other graves belonging to Palestinian families.
In 2014, Israel banned Palestinians from burying their dead in the northern part of the cemetery, slated to be part of a “Bible trail” by the Israeli municipality, which demolished some 20 graves in the area, belonging to Jordanian soldiers.
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