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Israel Denies Disturbing Arab Graves Outside Old City of Jerusalem
(Jerusalem Post) Tzvi Joffre - Despite assurances by Israel's Nature and Parks Authority and Israeli courts that gardening work near an Arab cemetery outside the Old City of Jerusalem will not impact the graves, violent clashes have occurred at the site over the past month between Israeli security forces and Arab demonstrators. A spokesperson for the Nature and Parks Authority stressed on Tuesday that "no work is being done in the cemetery. The work is being carried out on open public land designated for a public park and in the area of a national park located north of the cemetery." The spokesperson explained that while a number of graves were illegally placed in the area in recent years, the work being carried out would not damage the graves and they would remain intact. The Jerusalem Magistrates Court stated on Oct. 14 that the land in question was open public land separate from the cemetery and that there was evidence that the claimants opposing the work had given false testimony.