Wednesday, 02 February 2005 11:35
JCSER strongly condemned an Israeli company’s (Kilas Investment Corporation) attempt to snatch a Palestinian cemetery that is located on the eastern slopes of the Jabal AlMukabir district.
Kilas’ legal representative ‘Steven Berman’ sent notification letters dated January 30, 2005 to the relatives of the buried in the cemetery that the Kilas’ claiming ownership of the land. The letter notified the relatives to remove their buried family members and landscape the land to its original status or he will take legal action against them.
Through a telephone conversation with one of the buried relative, he said that the letter claims Kilas’ ownership of the land since 1993. However, the village’s residents claim that they have been burying their deceased relatives in the cemetery for centuries.
JCSER’s Director considered the action taken by Kilas Investment Corporation as a significant violation of Jerusalemites’ rights, dead or alive. He also pointed that this is the first time the cemetery has been subject to such a claim since the 1967 Israeli aggression. However, it is not the first violation of Palestinian Jerusalemites’ holy or sacred sites.