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Wednesday | Safar 3, 142 |
Shooting breaks out at Bethlehem church
BETHLEHEM, April 16: Heavy gunfire was heard briefly on Tuesday at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, where Israeli soldiers are locked in a two-week-old standoff with Palestinian gunmen holed up inside, witnesses said.
An eyewitness said it appeared to be an exchange of fire between Palestinians inside and Israeli troops surrounding the church, built on the spot revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus.
He said the fighting had only lasted about half an hour, and that the incident ended with no apparent change in the standoff.
Mohammed Al-Madani, the governor of Bethlehem who is among those trapped inside, said the Israelis had tried to storm the church but failed.
“They tried to get in, but they couldn’t,” he said. “There are no injuries, thank God.”
An Israeli army spokeswoman had earlier said the army was “operating in the area”, but declined to elaborate.
A Polish Franciscan monk inside the church said the exchange of fire lasted for about an hour.
“We could hear heavy rifle and tank shooting. It is hard for us to determine who started the shooting,” said Father Seweryn Lubecki.
“It seems that the basilica was not damaged. The Israeli soldiers are very careful not to damage it.”
Palestinian officials said about 100 Palestinians, some of them guerillas, and dozens of monks and nuns are trapped inside the church, which Israel has repeatedly said it will not damage.
During the exchange, four flares lit up the sky, while the church bell rang in the background.
A statement from those inside, which was sent to a local hospital official, said the Israeli army was arresting family members to put them under pressure to give themselves up. But it said the plan would not succeed.
Earlier, the Israeli army evacuated two Palestinians needing medical attention from the church in a military ambulance. The Israeli army said both men, one of them wounded by gunshot wounds several days ago, were placed under arrest.
Israel has said it has no intention of storming the church. Asked about Israeli plans, Major Tal Ravlan, an army spokesman, said: “There are a few alternatives to storming the church but I would not like to get into it right now.”
Israeli soldiers on Tuesday occupied the top floor of a hotel overlooking the church complex. Ravlan said the army would be staying for two to three days, but did not give any reasons.
Israel has proposed that the guerillas surrender and be tried in a military court or go into exile “forever”.
Madani has rejected the plan.
ISRAELI ACTIVIST: Veteran Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery accused Britain on Tuesday of hurting his country by failing to rein in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s military incursion into the West Bank.
Avnery, who co-founded Israel’s Gush Shalom movement dedicated to peace between Israel and the Palestinians, appealed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair to use his influence in Washington to put greater pressure on Sharon.
“I came to Great Britain (because) it seems the only person (US President George W.) Bush is listening to is Mr Blair,” Avnery, on a short trip to Britain to lobby for peace, told reporters.
“Mr Blair was standing beside Mr Bush when it was decreed that (Sharon’s) action must stop. But what does he say now that it has not stopped?” Avne