Compromise on Nazareth plot irks Muslims

"Our decision is to respect the sensibilities of the two parties," he said.

Ben Ami said the mosque would not be built before the end of 2000 and has ordered a tent that serves as a temporary mosque for Muslims near the Church of the Annunciation to be pulled down by November 8.

"We expect the two parties to accept (the arrangements). If they do not accept them, we will have to take unilateral steps," Ben Ami told reporters after meeting Muslim representatives from Nazareth and a delegation led by the city’s Christian mayorRamiz Jeraisi.

But a spokesman for the Islamic Movement in Nazareth — with a population of 60,000, Israel’s largest Arab city — warned of violence if the government tried to forcibly remove the tent.

"There will be bloodshed," said Aziz Shehadeh, a member of the Muslim delegation to the talks. "There will be something that people will remember for 100 years."

Church leaders have objected to the siting of the mosque near the church, where, according to Christian tradition, the Archangel Gabriel told Mary that she was pregnant with Jesus and he spent his childhood years.

It is also the site where the Pope is expected to begin his tour of the Holy Land in March 2000, and the mayor has drawn up plans for a vast plaza there to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims expected during the millennium year.

"It’s not a matter of do I agree or not.’ It’s a government decision," mayor Jeraisi told journalists, visibly disappointed with the result of his meeting. "Our responsibility is to get backto Nazareth and try to overcome all the problems and tensions," Jeraisi added, blaming the government for its failure to reach a decision sooner.

"I don’t think the confrontation is between religions, between Christians and Muslims. It’s a political issue and the solution is not a legal solution. It’s a political one," he said.

Ben Ami said the mosque would be built on a 700 square metre plot of land next to the church. "It will not be before the end of the year 2000" because of the need for planning and building permits, he said. He also said there would be a "separation" to keep the mosque apart from the square but did not elaborate on what form it would take.

Ben Ami said the government has also decided to build a police station at the site to "provide security for tourists and pilgrims."

Muslim delegates insisted on their right to start building the mosque over the tomb of the Muslim holy man Shihab el-Din immediately. "We do not agree with the government’s proposals," said Zohbi Ahmed, a memberof the city council.