Palestine slams planned US-Israeli desecration of Muslim cemetery in al-Quds
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has condemned a planned ceremony at a cemetery in the occupied al-Quds, saying the event organized by American Zionist groups desecrates the historic Muslim graveyard and violates international law.
The ceremony will take place on Monday at the historic Mamilla cemetery in West al-Quds, home to the graves of Muslim leaders and residents of the city for more than a thousand years.
It is arranged by a number of high-ranking US officials from the administration of former president Donald Trump, led by ex-ambassador to the occupied territories David Friedman and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it considers the ceremony a provocative attack on the Muslim cemetery and a flagrant violation of international law and conventions.
It also criticized the construction of the so-called Museum of Tolerance affiliated with the American Zionist Simon Wiesenthal Foundation on a part of the cemetery, which has been underway since 2010 with official Israeli support despite objections by al-Quds residents and petitions submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council and UNESCO.
The ministry further called on the current US government not to participate in the event at Mamilla cemetery.
International organizations should condemn and put a stop to the continuous violations of Palestinian political, cultural, historical, legal and religious rights in the al-Quds, the future capital of the Palestinian state, it added.
Foreign Ministry, Chief Islamic Justice condemn American Zionist plans to desecrate the Muslim Mammilla cemetery in Jerusalem.https://t.co/fMzp4zgl42 pic.twitter.com/XLbINY1oCN
— Wafa News Agency - English (@WAFANewsEnglish) October 9, 2021
Separately on Saturday, Palestine's Chief Islamic Justice Mahmoud al-Habbash said in a statement that the planned ceremony constitutes a full-fledged war crime as it constitutes a blatant assault on the remains of Palestinian ancestors and a grave insult to all Muslims.
The event will increase tensions experienced by the Palestinian people and may ignite the entire region, he warned, calling on the Arab and Islamic countries, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Arab League and UNESCO to intervene before it is too late.
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