Foreign Minister Ben Ami says Nazareth mosque discussion not on agenda
JERUSALEM, SEPT. 13, 2000 (ZENIT.org/Fides).- Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami, meeting yesterday with Christian authorities over the future of Jerusalem, refused to discuss another hot issue: a mosque in Nazareth.
Pressed by some Christian leaders, Ben Ami's reply was adamant, according to the Fides news agency: "This is something I refuse to discuss: the mosque is not on the order of the day I prepared."
Franciscans working in Jerusalem tell Fides that the "problem of the mosque is bound to dominate relations between Israel and the Christian Churches. It is time for the Israeli government to stop playing the ostrich."
The highest Christian authorities in Israel met with Ben Ami. Attending the meeting Latin Patriarch Michael Sabbah, Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Torkom Manoukian, a delegate for Greek Orthodox Patriarch Diodoros, and Franciscan Father Giovanni Battistelli, custodian of the Holy Land.
The foreign minister asked to see the religious leaders to have Christians' opinion about the future status of Jerusalem.
The patriarchs were anxious to discuss the question of the mosque at Nazareth, to be built in front of the major shrine of the Basilica of the Annunciation. For a year now the churches in the Holy Land have called on the government to withdraw the decision to allow the building of a mosque on this site.
In the meantime, different Christian communities have been discussing steps to convince the Israeli government to withdraw permission given for the mosque, criticized also by the highest Muslim authorities. Last Nov. 23 and 24, as a sign of protest, all the churches here kept the gates to the Holy Places closed, asking for "respect and justice."
Underlying the mosque question, and the status of Jerusalem, is whether local authorities can effectively oversee Holy Land sites. Many are calling for international oversight.
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