Israel and al-Nasera mosque

Israeli Minister of the Interior Shlomo Ben-Ami has defended the decision taken by his government to allow the construction of a mosque near al-Beshara mosque in al-Nasera city (Nazareth).

He said the decision is very important in order to settle the dispute and eliminate the state of tension has prevailed in the city recently.

Israel Radio said that Ben-Ami promised to deal with all the legal demands of the Christian community in al-Nasera on the grounds of "dignity," stressing that his government will keep the order in the city after the mosque is established

Commenting on the stand taken by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat towards this matter, Ben-Ami called on the Palestinian government to "take care of its own matters," adding "this is a matter of sovereignty for Israel."

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Islamic Movement in al-Nasera, Muhammad Suleiman, stressed that the Arab citizens of the city by all their sects and groups are united, "yet there are foreign forces that are trying to split the united people and create sectarianism."

In a statement to Monte Carlo Radio on Tuesday, Suleiman expressed his deep regret for the "existence of foreign forces which do not want the mosque to be built in al- Nasera," just 200 meters from al-Beshara mosque (the Basilica of the Annunciation).