Iran condemns desecration of Ma’man Allah cemetery

TEHRAN, Oct. 29 (MNA) – Iran condemned on Friday the desecration of the Ma’man Allah cemetery in the occupied holy Qods and called on the relevant organizations to take measures to stop any activity that changes the Islamic and Arabic face of the city. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast said that the insulting move, which has been taken under the pretext of building a museum, is in line with Israel’s occupation and Judaization policies. Mehmanparast called on the relevant regional and international officials and organizations, particularly the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to fulfill their obligations and take the measures necessary to preserve the Islamic and Arabic texture of holy Qods and to prevent any measure that would lead to the demolition of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Zionist regime has recently started a project to construct the Museum of Tolerance on the site of the Ma’man Allah cemetery, which dates from the 12th century. The project has sparked controversy. The website of the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights said the 84 signatories, including Israeli and Palestinian academics, had signed a letter demanding that construction of the Museum of Tolerance should be stopped “immediately,” the Daily Star reported on October 25. “The latest and most invasive encroachment on the cemetery to build the ‘Museum of Tolerance’ involved deep excavations that resulted in the disinterment of hundreds of human bones and other important antiquities in an unscientific and disrespectful manner,” said the letter, which was sent Oct. 20.