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Jordan Offers Document at UN of Alleged Israeli Desecration of Moslem Holy Places

April 26, 1968
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A document containing photographs purporting to show evidence of Israeli desecration of Moslem shrines and Christian churches and cemeteries in the Israel sector of Jerusalem since 1948 was made public here today. The document, submitted by Jordan to the Secretary-General on April 19, was prepared by "The Institute for Palestine Studies." The Institute describes itself as "an independent non-profit Arab research organization not affiliated to any government, political party or group, devoted to a better understanding of the Palestine problem."

In a letter to the Secretary-General that accompanied the document, Muhammed H. El-Farra, permanent representative of Jordan to the United Nations, charged that "it was the Israelis who willfully desecrated the Christian and Moslem Holy Places." He claimed that "for twenty years under Israeli occupation, the general public was forbidden access to them."

The document alleged that Israeli soldiers were responsible for the "total devastation of the Armenian church and with the "systematic pillage" of the Greek Orthodox and Latin church cemeteries.

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