• ISRAEL \ Jan 09, 2002
    reads 3551
    Israel halts mosque construction near major Christian shrine
Israel halts mosque construction near major Christian shrine The security cabinet decided Wednesday to halt construction of a mosque next to the Basilica of the Annunciation, a major Christian shrine in Jesus' boyhood town of Nazareth, a diplomatic official said.

A government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the security cabinet decided to halt the construction immediately.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Housing Minister Natan Sharansky were asked to find an alternate site for the mosque in Nazareth within two weeks, the official said.

A diplomatic source said that the two previous governments (under Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak respectively) had authorized the construction of the mosque, but added that since then, the situation has changed with the Islamic Movement escalating Israel-Palestinian tensions.

The source also said that the Christian world, headed by the Vatican, has exerted great pressure on Israel to halt the mosque's construction and has also declared that the already-built foundations were put in place illegally.

The mosque stands just outside the basilica - one of the most important churches in the world and the largest church in the Middle East - which is built on the spot where tradition says the Angel Gabriel foretold the birth of Jesus. According to the construction plans, the crescent on top of the Shihab el-Din mosque will rise above the cross atop the basilica.

Police in Nazareth, a town of 70,000 in northern Israel, braced for angry protests by the local Islamic Movement, which had funded the mosque constructions. The mosque has become a symbol of Muslim aspirations for greater political power by the more than 1 million Muslim citizens of Israel, who make up one-sixth of the population.

In recent months, especially during the Christmas season, Christian clergymen had stepped up protests against the mosque construction.

The mosque dispute first arose in 1998 when the Nazareth municipality approved a plan for the construction of a paved plaza outside the basilica for the tens of thousands of pilgrims expected during millennium celebrations.

Observers of the dispute have said both left and right-wing governments exploited the situation in a bid to woo Israel's Arab community. Since the vast majority of Arabs in Israel are Muslims, the mosque was seen as a way of getting votes.

The construction plan has drawn criticism from the international community. Pope John Paul II threatened to cancel a millennium visit to Israel over the issue, and the Vatican said in November that construction of the mosque would put this holy place in a permanent state of siege.

During Easter 1999, the issue sparked street clashes between Muslim and Christian residents of the city. U.S. President George W. Bush has raised the subject with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who pledged to try to resolve the dispute.
Comments