Less than two weeks after the violent riots between local Druse and Christians in the Galilee village of Mughar, calls have been made among the minority Christian contingent of the village to establish Christian-only settlements.

Such dramatic and secessionist calls are unprecedented among this typically tranquil community, and mark the first time Christians in Israel have demanded Christian-only villages.

At first the idea was circulated only as small talk on the streets of the village, but Sunday the chief priest of a northern village joined the calls in a statement he made in his weekly sermon.

"Our culture and Druse culture simply do not get along. We must provide Christians with the possibility to live separately, otherwise a lot more blood may be spilled than we saw in Mughar," Army Radio quoted the priest's warning.

His comments met with enraged reactions on the part of Greek Orthodox religious leaders, who are loath to disrupt the current order and create "Christian ghettos."

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