Israeli firm desecrates Beersheba cemetery to build shopping mall

BEERSHEBA, The Aqsa foundation for endowments and heritage denounced in a statement Friday extensive excavations by an Israeli company to erect a commercial center over an Islamic cemetery in Beersheba known as the Turkish Cemetery.

Aqsa foundation member Farhoud al-Sayyid said that the Israelis responsible for the project know there is a Muslim graveyard there, but they insist on building a shopping mall on the site, claiming they were issued the permits by the Beersheba municipality to proceed in the construction, and that “digging operations will not affect the graves located at the site.”

The foundation is inspecting the excavations to prevent continued desecration of the cemetery, and is determined to take several steps to preserve the honor of the deceased and the sanctity of the graveyard.