One of the most shocking reported episodes of the 19-year occupation by Jordan of Mount of Olives Cemetery near Jerusalem was confirmed today when Israeli officials found that tombstones from the historic burial ground had been used in the construction of an Arab Legion camp near Jericho.
Some of the most revered religious leaders and Jewish personalities throughout the world are interred in Mount of Olives Cemetery which was the most widely used Jewish burial ground until the Israeli War of Independence in 1948.
The use of the tombstones for building the Legion Camp was confirmed by a group of Israeli Army chaplains and members of the Jerusalem Chevra Kadisha (Religious Burial Society) who inspected the camp site today. Nearly the entire camp was built with tombstones carted from the cemetery and used for the main parade ground, roads, buildings and even the lavatory structure. Inscriptions were still visible on the desecrated stones and efforts are being made to trace the location of the graves and replace the stones.
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