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NAZARETH, (PIC)-- The Israel Antiquities Authority has been working with a local company to build a tourist hotel on the ruins of a Muslim cemetery near the Grand Mosque in the Palestinian port city of Jaffa, Al-Aqsa Islamic heritage foundation said in a statement Sunday.

It said the IAA has gathered the remains of Muslims buried there in cardboard boxes placed in a bunker near the cemetery, making way to transport them covertly. Dozens more skeletons are scattered across the cemetery, Al-Aqsa Foundation said.

The group, which operates chiefly in Jerusalem, said Israeli authorities have been trying to bargain with Jaffa locals in a bid to get them to agree to the hotel construction, but local Palestinians have so far shown no sign of budging.

Al-Aqsa Foundation has filed a petition in the Israeli court objecting to the construction, but the petition was denied, and the company behind the project was given permission to continue working. The foundation used photos documenting violations taking place at the site.