Israeli occupation forces IOF on Thursday, September 1, renewed excavation works in the Yusufiya Cemetery in occupied Jerusalem.

Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli bulldozers, heavily guarded by Israeli occupation forces, broke into the Yusufiya Cemetery, known as Bab Al-Asbat Cemetery, and implemented excavations inside it.

The Israeli excavations aim to Judaize the Islamic cemetery, established during the era of the Ayyubid state in 1250 AD, by establishing an Israeli garden on its lands.

The cemetery includes a number of landmarks, including memorials to the victims of the 1967 war and the first Al-Aqsa massacre in 1990.

In late 2021, Israeli occupation authorities installed surveillance cameras in the Yusufiya cemetery, after closing part of it.

The occupation forces completely prevent Jerusalemites from entering the part intended to be converted into a garden, despite the fact that it includes a number of graves.