Six Catholic graves have been vandalised in an act of "desecration' in a cemetery at Beit Jimal near Jerusalem in Israel.

The vandalism took place in December in the cemetery of the Salesian Convent of Beit Jimal, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The convent used to educate Palestinian children but now specialises in retreats.

Several wooden and concrete crosses of the tombs were smashed and thrown to the ground. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. On December 30, the police of Beit Shemesh were notified and subsequently opened an investigation.

According to a statement by the Salesians, there was a similar desecration back in 1981, where vandals smashed thirty wooden crosses.

In March 2014, vandals targeted the monastery of Deir Rafat, where the sanctuary of Our Lady of Palestine is found, near Beit Shemesh. Anti-Christian and anti-American writings were discovered on the walls of the monastery bearing the "price tag" slogans used sometimes by Israeli radicals. 

Last year, the "loaves and fishes" church in Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee was gutted in an arson attack and is currently being rebuilt after a crowdfunding initiative backed by rabbis across Israel.

The Beit Jimal vandalism is however thought to be a local act and not to be connected to any radical or extremist movements.