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Israeli hangs donkey head to desecrate historic Jerusalem Muslim cemetery

Photographs circulating on social media show the head of a donkey hanging from a fence of the cemetery, which is adjacent to the Golden Gate, the oldest in Jerusalem's Old City.

AFP

The Waqf Islamic affairs council says a Jewish extremist slit the throat of a donkey at the Golden Gate cemetery before hanging it over the Muslim graves there. / Photo: AFP

An Israeli man has desecrated a Muslim cemetery in occupied east Jerusalem's Old City by hanging a donkey's head.

"A Jewish extremist slit the throat of a donkey today at the Golden Gate cemetery before hanging it over the Muslim graves there," the Waqf Islamic affairs council said in a statement on Wednesday.

"It was a serious desecration of one of the main historic Muslim cemeteries in Jerusalem."

Describing the 35-year-old as "unbalanced", police said he was arrested after they were alerted that a man had "broken the law and disrupted public order by hanging the head of a donkey" at the cemetery.

Photographs circulating on social media show the head of a donkey hanging from a fence of the cemetery, which is adjacent to the Golden Gate, the oldest in the Old City and the only one to be walled.

According to Jewish tradition the Golden Gate will only open on arrival of the messiah, who will enter Jerusalem through it.

Police said the man was carrying an axe at the time of his arrest, adding that another suspect who allegedly had helped in taking him there was also in custody.

Hundreds of Israeli settlers storm Al Aqsa Mosque compound

'Heart of provocations'

The cemetery is near the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, a site holy to both Muslims and Jews and is at the heart of tensions between Palestinians and Israelis.

The compound, also home to the Dome of the Rock, is Islam's holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. It lies directly above the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews are allowed to pray.

In recent years far-right extremist Jews have made multiple visits to the compound, sparking anger among Palestinians who see this as a provocation.

Defending Al Aqsa was cited by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas as the main reason for its attack on Israel on October 7.

Israel launched a massive military assault on Gaza following the cross-border attack, killing at least 21,110 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 55,243 others, according to local health authorities.