Jerusalem - The head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, Patriarch Michel Sabbah, has accused Israel of discriminating against Christians by giving Muslims permission to build a mosque near the main church in Nazareth in the face of Vatican protests.
In a letter sent last week to the Israeli President, Mr Ezer Weizman, Patriarch Michel urged reversing the Israeli plan for ending a dispute over ownership of a piece of land in Nazareth.
"It is a decision that rewards an aggressor and punishes the victim. It is a real discrimination by the State of Israel against its Christian citizens," he wrote.