Clashes over 'naked women'

Jerusalem - Sectarian clashes erupted between Christians and Druze in the Israeli Arab village of Maghar for a second straight day on Saturday, wounding 10, including three policemen, residents said.

Police intervened to quell the violence which was sparked by rumours that photographs of naked Druze women had been posted on the internet.

Two of the seven wounded villagers suffered bullet wounds.

Saturday's unrest broke out after Christians held a silent protest outside the village church against what they charged was police inaction during a rampage by hundreds of Druze youths on Friday in which Christian cars and businesses were attacked.

Regional police chief Dan Ronen acknowledged that the Christians had a point, charging that the Druze violence had amounted to a "pogrom", a strong word in an Israeli context given its original use to describe sectarian attacks on East European Jewish communities.

"I'm ashamed for the Druze community," said Ronen. "It's deplorable that a pogrom should have broken out because of rumours about pictures of naked Druze women being posted on the internet."

Police deployed in strength on Saturday and said they had no evidence to support the Druze allegations of improper photographs.

Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra visited the village and said: "These are the worst sectarian riots I have ever seen in the Israeli Arab community."

A breakaway sect of Shiite Islam, the 80 000 Druze are normally considered the most loyal of Israel's Arab communities and, unlike the Christians, do military service in the army.

A separate Druze community lives in the Golan Heights, where they have remained loyal to Syria, despite Israel's 38-year occupation of the territory.

In all, Israel counts some 1.2 million Arabs, of whom some nine percent are Christian.

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