Communicated by Defense Minister's Media Adviser 15 July 1998 Defense Ministry establishing new Druze settlement   The Defense Ministry, on the instructions of Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai and in cooperation with the Ministerial Committee on Settlement in the Negev and Galilee headed by National Infrastructure Minister Ariel Sharon, is currently in the process of establishing a new Druze settlement. The settlement will be the first of its kind for both actively serving and discharged Druze members of the defense establishment. Plans to build the settlement were announced this week by Defense Minister Mordechai, during an IDF gathering in salute of Druze and Circassian soldiers held in Hurfeish, with the participation of past and current Druze and Circassian soldiers and commanders, community officials, the IDF chief of staff and senior officers. The Defense Ministry is also examining the possibility of setting up the first Druze Nahal core group, which would lay the groundwork for the area to be settled and assist in building the first community. The Ministerial Committee, which gave broad support for the overall project, has instructed that the site for the new Druze community be located within three months. This precedent-setting decision underscores the desire of Israel and the defense establishment to express their appreciation for the cooperation and close relations which exist between the Jewish people and the Druze community.