Israeli bulldozers demolished a 12th-century Muslim cemetery today in the Jewish block of West Jerusalem, the Turkish Vatan newspaper reported.
Over 200 graves were destroyed by the local municipal authorities. They had only recently been restored, the newspaper quoted Islamic Al-Aqsa Foundation official Mahmoud Abu Atta as saying.
The authorities ordered the destruction of the cemetery without a court decision, he claimed.
Abu Atta said the move could lead to another wave of mass protests after the Israeli government included the Patriarchs Cave in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem in a list of Jewish national heritage last autumn.
The authorities plan to build a museum of tolerance to commemorate Holocaust victims at the site of the destroyed cemetery.