In a letter seen by The Scotsman, the Rev Clarence Musgrave, who moved to the region four years ago to become minister of St Andrew?s Church in Jerusalem, raises concerns that the managers of the Tiberias project, in the north of the country, are non-Christians. He warns such a move could lead to a lack of focus on Christianity at the centre, which includes a 69-bedroom hotel.

The Tiberias project, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, has been a constant source of unrest within the Church of Scotland since it was approved in 1999, with the 2002 General Assembly turning down vociferous calls for it to be abandoned.

Already costing ?9 million, the future of the complex was again called into question at this year?s General Assembly, with concerns raised that it was proving an enormous drain on resources, which could otherwise be used to fund missionary work in the Third World.

"Which one of us, if asked to invest ... in a hotel in Israel, would invest in it?" asked one commissioner, who said he did not believe that the Church was acting prudently by funding the scheme.

In his letter to a previous incumbent of his post, Mr Musgrave said: "You may recall a certain unease about the appointment of the general manager in Tiberias, and the fact that not a lot of effort was put into finding a member of the Christian community for the post.

"With non-Church folk now as general manager, in charge of preparing some form of management, it is not too difficult to envisage that there will be no room at the inn for people from any other part of the community."

Mr Musgrave also raises concerns about the lack of a religious element to the hotel and the hotel shop, which also is run by a non-Christian.

"In going round the hotel, no mention of a place for any prayers at all," he writes.

"There is to be a shop, which will be leased out. The reply was that it would be to an Israeli person and ? the Church would have no say in what was sold.

"There was no mention that it might be a Nazareth person who might be given the lease, nor a Christian person.

"No mention that it might be used to help the economic activity of the Christian community or the West Bank community."

Responding to the concerns, the Rev Fred Hibbert, the minister at the Tiberias project, said part of the problem was that Palestinian Christians from elsewhere in Israel did not have the necessary papers to travel to the north, where the project is located.

"There are very few Palestinian Christians in the north of the country. They do not have Israeli ID and that means that technically it is very difficult to employ Palestinian Christians because they cannot get into Tiberias to work," he said.

However, he insisted that every effort was made to employ people from across the religious and ethnic spectrum.

"Our head receptionist is Christian, we will employ Christians in the kitchen. We have a Jewish manager and a Jewish secretary and a Jewish chef, but our maintenance manager is a Muslim and our head waiter is a Muslim.

"Our policy is to employ everyone. I would be distressed if we didn?t have any Christians working at Tiberias, but equally I would be distressed if we didn?t have any Jews or Muslims."

Despite his comments, a source close to the project insisted that the focus of the Church should be on employing Christians in management positions.

"They have taken the easy option. It is a Christian centre and it should be managed by Christians. If that means going to the Israeli authorities and getting work permits or identity cards for Christians to come to work in Tiberias, then that is what they should be doing."

Since 1999, work at Tiberias has been constantly disrupted by hostilities in the Middle East and the resultant collapse in the tourist industry.

More delays were caused because the exterior stone used in the complex comes from an area of the West Bank that has seen repeated suicide bombings and Israeli helicopter strikes.

Further trouble came when a sixth-century graveyard was found on the site, leading to protests from ultra-orthodox Jews.

Last year, the Assembly was told the first phase was expected to be completed by October 2003, but a joint report by the boards of world mission, stewardship and finance, and the Church of Scotland Trust, said the opening was now planned for early summer this year.

The report conceded: "The deteriorating political situation in Israel, with the continuing intifada, has compounded these delays because of a prohibition on the movement of Palestinian and foreign workers, road closures and strikes. The original vision ? has been seriously compromised and financial implications are severe."