The Israeli occupation police on Friday afternoon quelled a peaceful protest rally staged by Palestinian citizens inside Bab al-Rahmeh cemetery which is adjacent to the eastern wall of the Aqsa Mosque.
Several protesters were reportedly injured and four others were arrested by the police. The detainees were identified as Imad Abisan Mahdi Yousef Mustafa Awad and Husam Hammouda.
According to local sources the protesters were demanding the Israeli authorities to stop its violations against the Islamic cemetery.
The sources said that police forces brutally assaulted citizens and journalists and showered them with volleys of tear gas grenades.
Recently Israeli officials from the nature and parks authority under police escort stormed the Islamic cemetery of Bab Al-Rahma and wreaked havoc on more graves.
Police officers also attacked a number of Palestinian citizens who attempted to stop the Israeli desecration of the cemetery.
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) in Jerusalem has long been working on annexing the area. In 2015 its nature and parks authority set up a railway wires and poles around the cemetery claiming it had a court verdict stating it owned 1800 square meters of the total area of the Islamic site.
Later in 2016 and 2017 the IOA demolished a number of Muslim graves to prepare the area for the establishment of projects for its settlers.
Bab al-Rahmeh cemetery is an Islamic mortmain site that dates back more than 1400 years. It is considered one of east Jerusalem’s most important historical sites.
