Nazareth Mayor, Muslims Clash
Club-wielding Muslim demonstrators clashed Thursday with Nazareth’s Christian mayor and his driver during an eruption of sectarian violence in the town known as the birthplace of Jesus.
The driver was hospitalized after being struck in the head, and three demonstrators were detained, police said. The mayor, Ramez Jeraisi, was not injured.
The violence is harming Israel’s plans to turn Nazareth into a millennium showcase for Christian pilgrims, now that Bethlehem is under full Palestinian control.
Nazareth has been politically paralyzed since November municipal elections gave the Islamic Movement a majority on the city council but kept in place Jeraisi, the Christian mayor.
The key point of contention is a downtown plot alongside the Church of the Annunciation, where tradition says an angel foretold the birth of Jesus.
Jeraisi wants to build a Venetian-style plaza for Christian pilgrims on the land, while Muslims claim the plot for a future mosque.
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