Alex,
Why did you put a “Catholic” tag on this? This has nothing to do with the Latins, or the Eastern-Rite Catholics in communion with Rome.
Kolo, Kosta
Ping to you for your comment...
Ah - now I understand my confusion. It doesn't happen every year, but it's a semi-regular occurance among the sites in Israel. Here's a few examples...
Dec 2007, Church of the Nativity
April 2003, Church of the Sepulchre
Jul 2002, Church of the Sepulchre
Pretty much, for well over a thousand years.
The exact same sqyabbling between the churches that lead to these fights led to civil and international wars back in the 500s and 600s, and for that matter had a great deal to do with the Muslim conquest of the Middle East, Egypt and North Africa.
The locals had been persecuted by the orthodox Greeks of Constantinople for so long that Muslim rule looked like a good deal by comparison. No doubt they figured out fairly quickly this was a mistake, but by then it was too late.