Israeli will pave over cemetery; how just

Israeli Supreme Court rules against petition to save Beit Dijan cemetery
February 01, 2007 Palestine News Network

The Israeli Supreme Court ruled that an Islamic cemetery in the village of Beit Dijan, whose residents were displaced in 1948, can be paved over. It said that the graves were not Islamic nor properly maintained. Last year Israeli companies began preparations to build apartments and streets atop the cemetery. The Al Aqsa Foundation filed a suit in the Israeli court system to stop the desecration.

The Chairperson of the Al Aqsa Foundation for Islamic Sanctities and Reconstruction, Sheikh Ali Abu Sheikhah, said that the decision “undoubtedly shows that the Israeli institution has expanded its tentacles.

”One year and a half ago the Al Aqsa Foundation revealed that the Israeli Antiquities Authority began excavations in the Beit Dijan cemetery, preparing for the Israeli companies to build apartments and roads. In protest, the Al Aqsa Foundation managed to go to the Israeli Magistrate's Court in Kfar Saba and then to the Supreme Court to stop the excavation. The Israeli Supreme Court refused to accept Al Aqsa's petition.

The graves can be transferred or paved over, either way the sanctity of dead Muslims is desecrated. Sheikh Ali Abu Sheikhah said, “The decision issued by the Supreme Court regarding the cemetery in Beit Dijan is a reprehensible one illustrating the Israeli institution's contempt for Muslims and their graves, which violates international covenants and religious laws.”

He also stressed that the Israeli position that the graves are not necessarily Muslim is without merit as he is certain, “the graves are Islamic as evidenced by the burial method that Islam is known for, either from a religious or archaeological perspective.”