Posted on 03/03/2006 10:23:54 AM PST by SmithL
NAZARETH, Israel -- At least two people disguised as Christian pilgrims threw firecrackers into one of Christianity's holiest sites Friday, sparking a riot in this biblical town, police said.
Police said the attackers entered the Basilica of the Annunciation and threw the firecrackers. Hundreds of residents of the Arab-Israeli town gathered outside building and began rioting.
Rescue workers said at least two people were wounded in the unrest, and others suffered from tear gas inhalation.
Police said the attackers remained inside the church, and the crowd prevented police from entering the building to arrest them. Two or three people were believed to be inside, officials said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
A police spokesman said the Israelis -- two Jewish women and a man -- were holed up inside the Roman Catholic Church of the Annunciation, one of Christianity's most important sites in the Holy Land, with an angry crowd massed outside.
Police had entered the church, he said.
There was no immediate information on the motive for the incident and the identities of the three were not known. Nazareth is a predominantly Arab town in the north of Israel.
Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said a brawl erupted in the church plaza outside after the incident and that two people were taken to hospital with light injuries.
Some people said they had been hit by teargas, it added.
Israel's Channel 2 television said the three Israelis entered the church with a child's pram and started throwing firecrackers.
It said worshippers subdued the three and that hundreds of people gathered outside were not letting police take them out.
Jews threw the firecrackers in the church in the Arab-Christian town. It could have been just a prank, or they were trying to start a riot...
Three Jews did it.
more info...
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/689946.html
Lock them up..
Bush did it.
FYI
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Moe, Larry, and Shemp
A Jewish man and two women entered the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth on Friday evening and began throwing firecrackers from a baby carriage that they brought with them. It was later discovered that the baby carriage brought by the attackers was filled with firecrackers, and even with small gas canisters.
Shortly after the attack, a large crowd, consisting of thousands of locals, gathered around the attackers, subdued them and continued to attack them. Police and emergency medical teams rushed to the scene, but were barred from entering the church by the crowd. The ambulances even had their windshields broken.
Within about an hour, a small police force that arrived at the scene dispersed the crowd and managed to lock the man and two women in a room inside the compound. At about 9 p.m. local time, the three assailants were evacuated from the church.
Asst.-Cmdr. Yaakov Zigdon who commanded over district police forces revealed that the three would be taken to receive medical treatment, and then would be taken to police investigation.
Channel 10 revealed that the man suspected of the attack was identified as Haim Eliyahu Havivi, a Jerusalem resident who allegedly threatened to attack the church. The two women were thought to be his 40-year-old Christian wife and his daughter.
It was reported that the man had made previous threats against the church since two of his children were taken away from him and handed over to foster families. He allegedly warned that he would wreak havoc, and possibly even commit suicide.
Just this week, Havivi was detained by police after attempting to visit one his children. The police in Nazareth recognized the baby carriage used in Friday's attack as the same one brought by Havivi when he came to see his child.
The mayor of Nazareth also came to the church to try, together with local religious leaders, to calm the masses.
Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra commended the police, who were initially understaffed, for taking care of the incident. However, it was reported that the angry crowd barred the police from entering the church.
In the incident, three policeman and three locals were lightly injured.
Playing a prank like that in that part of the world can get you killed. I´d like to hear their motives for doing this.
Of the three culprits only the man is Jewish it appears. It also seems that the man is well know to the police as a crackpot.
Thank you for the reply.
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