INTERNATIONAL

Unidentified vandals yesterday set fire to the Bab Al-Rahma cemetery on the eastern side of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Old City of East Jerusalem, Al-Resalah newspaper reported.

This came amidst daily Jewish Israeli settler break-ins into the cemetery during which they defiled the graves. Days earlier a large brick from the southern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque fell beneath the Al-Qibli Prayer Hall.

Israeli excavations under Al-Aqsa Mosque have led to the collapse of the southern part of the cemetery, activists have said, warning that the cemetery has been intensively targeted by settlers since 2017.

Specialists have disclosed secret Israeli plans related to stealing the southern part of the area, which is located near the Mughrabi Gate, from which settlers repeatedly storm Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The specialists revealed that secret Israeli excavation work started beneath the bunker in 2018, noting that several historic tiles collapsed in 2020.

Israeli occupation authorities have prevented any renovation in the bunker since the 1967 Israeli occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem, Al-Resalah said.

Source: Middle East Monitor