Muslims, Christians Clash on Easter

Tensions between Muslims and Christians in the Galilee town of Nazareth erupted into riots Easter Sunday in which at least seven people were injured, Israeli police said.

Police battled to break up clashes over a disputed tract near the Basilica of the Annunciation, the holiest Christian site in the Arab city. Muslims are angry over the planned construction of a plaza for millennium Christian pilgrims near a mosque.

Six Muslim stone-throwers were arrested for rioting and public disturbances, said police spokeswoman Linda Menuhin, and authorities briefly closed the main road in the town where the Scriptures say Jesus lived.

Thousands of young Muslim men gathered at the disputed site, where Muslims have been holding protests for nearly a year.

Some hurled insults and curses at worshipers as they left the church, where Roman Catholic tradition holds that the angel Gabriel appeared before Mary and told her she was pregnant. Other youths, wielding clubs, smashed windshields of cars that had crosses dangling from their mirrors.