Purportedly fake Muslim gravestones removed from disputed Jerusalem cemetery
By APThursday, August 12, 2010
Muslim gravestones removed from Jerusalem cemetery
JERUSALEM — Israeli authorities in Jerusalem have removed about 300 gravestones from a medieval Muslim cemetery in the city center.
A statement from Jerusalem city hall says the gravestones were fake and were recently made by Muslim activists.
The site is disputed. The Los Angeles-based Weisenthal Center is building a “Museum of Tolerance” on the location but local Muslim leaders says bodies buried there are being dug up.
Thursday’s statement says the Islamic Movement took advantage of a permit to repair the graves and “set up fictitious gravestones.”
The Muslim group says the tombstones are genuine, but some were in poor condition and needed to be restored. It accuses the city of violating a court order not to destroy graves without coordination with the group.
