Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai (C) is guarded by armed secret service bodyguards March 20 while visiting the controversial Har Homa (rear) housing project in Arab East Jerusalem two days after Israel broke ground on the new Jewish settlement that will house some 6,500 Jewish families. Mordechai said that army intelligence showed Palestinians might turn to violence after Friday prayers while in nearby Bethlehem, clashes broke out between Palestinian students and Israeli troops in reaction to the disputed settlement.

MIDEAST