Hanna urges churches worldwide to prevent Israeli decimation of historic Christian sites

Thursday, 05 August 2010 16:00

Theodosios Atallah Hanna, Archbishop of Sebastia from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, has called upon churches internationally to immediately intervene to prevent Israel from continuing to obliterate features of Christianity in the Palestinian town of Ein Karem situated west of Occupied Jerusalem.
 
Accompanied by his lawyer Keis Youssef Naser, Hanna visited Ein Karem on Wednesday (04.08.2010) to examine the Christian sites threatened by the Occupation.
 
Following the visit, Hanna made an urgent appeal to all churches and church leaders to follow up on this issue and to take legal measures to prevent the Israeli authorities from building on these sites which represent the Christian history of Palestine.

He called upon the Christian world to take necessary measures to protect these sites, and warned that heritage sites linked to the First Church and Christian presence in the first four centuries AD were being targeted.
 
It is worth mentioning that the Palestinian town of Ein Karem, west of Jerusalem, is considered one among hundreds of Arab-Palestinian towns that were obliterated by the Israeli Occupation. The Israeli hospital of Hadassah Ein Karem and other official Israeli buildings now exist on the rubble of the town.

Source: Quds Press

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Israel Demolishes Grave Stones of the Prophet's
 Companions Buried in Jerusalem

On Wednesday (04.08.2010) morning, Israeli machinery began the sweeping of a number of graves in the historic Islamic Ma'man Allah cemetery in occupied Jerusalem which contains dozens of tombs dating back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Heritage and Endowments said: "Machinery and bulldozers belonging to the Israeli municipal authorities in Jerusalem have dug up and destroyed 15 tombs in the Ma'man Allah cemetery located in the far north east of Jerusalem. This action is in accordance with Judaisation plans for the Holy city which aims at ridding Jerusalem of all that is Arab and Islamic". 

In a copy of a written statement sent to 'Quds Press', the Foundation clarified that the Israeli violation had "occurred after the Al-Aqsa Foundation undertook to cooperate in the upkeep of the cemetery carrying out maintenance and repairs and cleaning it."

The Al-Aqsa Foundation condemned the act as an 'odious crime' and said that it would "continue with the maintenance and preservation of the Ma'man Allah cemetery; taking care of the tombs inside of it and undertaking the full legal and religious responsibilities toward our graves and our dead."

The Ma'man Allah cemetery is one of the largest Muslim cemeteries in the area estimated at approximately two hundred dunams.

Credible Palestinian sources confirm that the Ma'man Allah cemetery contains the remains of a number of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) such as 'Ubadah bin Samit and many graves belonging those from the generation that followed the companions. The cemetery also contains the graves of numerous other notables of Islam, martyrs and righteous individuals.

Israel "has declared war on the living and the dead to erase Palestinian identity"

An Arab member of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has called the authorities' destruction of hundreds of graves in the Muslim Ma'aman Allah Cemetery in Jerusalem "a declaration of war against living and dead Palestinians".

Massoud Ghanayem said that this "declaration of war" is Israel's way of "imposing its agenda and trying to erase Palestinian identity and distort the identity of the land". Such action, he added, "proves that Israel is still acting with brutality against icons of Palestinian identity in the drive to confiscate Arabs' and Muslims' rights in the city of Jerusalem".

The United Arab List MK drew attention to the fact that Ma'aman Allah Cemetery is "a cultural legacy and an important part of Jerusalem's history, the loss of which should be of concern to the Israeli government even as it aims to Judaize the Holy City".

Israeli authorities destroy over 200 tombs in Jerusalem’s Ma’man Allah cemetery


The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Heritage and Endowments has revealed that after midnight on 10 August, bulldozers of the Israeli Occupation dug up and completely removed more than 200 tombs from the Ma’man Allah cemetery in Jerusalem, which is the oldest and largest Islamic burial site in the city. Ma’man Allah is also the burial ground for a number of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as well as scholars, notables, martyrs and the general Muslim population of Jerusalem.

A crew from the Al-Aqsa Foundation has maintained a continuous presence at the cemetery since the Magistrate’s court ruling on Monday afternoon permitting the destruction of the tombs. The crew, which includes Mr. Fawaz Hassan, an observer of the work of Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, the journalist Mahmoud Abu ‘Ata, the media co-ordinator for the Al-Aqsa Foundation and Mr. Sharaf Ahmad, the Al-Aqsa Foundation’s press photographer, has been closely monitoring the activities of the Israeli Occupation both day and night.

The al-Aqsa crew inside the cemetery have confirmed that bulldozers, trucks and a large number of staff and Israeli state representatives under police escort stormed the cemetery at exactly 12:30 after midnight. The bulldozers along with the excavation and demolition equipment were divided into two groups; one group began with the destruction and excavation of the tombs on the western side of the cemetery, and the other group destroyed and removed graves on the south-eastern side.

Within minutes of these developments, the Al-Aqsa Foundation immediately informed the Arab media of the unfolding events and had gathered a large crew of photographers and journalists on the scene. The Israeli Occupation and their police escort tried to prevent the photographers and journalists from filming or carrying out their professional duties. One of the photographers was attacked by a bulldozer driver who attempted to run him over, however, the journalists and photographers insisted on carrying out their work to document the Israeli crime. During the demolition operation, a quarrel broke out between the police and the representatives of the Israeli state due to the Muslim presence. Al-Hajj Mustafa Abu Zahra, one of the cemetery’s endowment trustees arrived at Ma’man Allah during the destruction and tried to stop the bulldozers from continuing with their crimes; however the police intervened and prevented him from doing so.

It is worth mentioning here that the actions of the Israeli Occupation came after the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Heritage and Endowment and the trustees of the cemetery’s endowment, al-Hajj Sami Rizq Allah Abu Mukh and al-Hajj Mustafa Abu Zahra, had undertaken the restoration, repair and maintenance of hundreds of graves that were at risk of disappearing due to repeated Israeli attacks. However, this does not appear to have satisfied the Israeli authorities.

Holy Land Civilization Continues to be
 Destroyed by Israeli Settlers

(Priests Also Spat Upon)

Desperate Cry for Help from Holy Land

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