Church of Nativity Damaged and a Monastery Is Scorched

New York Times ^ | 4/09/02 | DAVID ROHDE

[kattracks]

EIT JALA, West Bank, April 8 — A gun battle between Israeli and Palestinian fighters damaged the exterior of the Church of the Nativity today and ignited a fire in an adjoining monastery, scarring one of Christianity's holiest sites as a standoff at the church continued for a sixth day.

The fire was quickly extinguished, but both sides confirmed that the exterior of the church suffered damage during an early morning firefight that left one Palestinian policeman dead and two Israeli soldiers seriously wounded.

Each side accused the other of firing first.

Israeli officials said two Palestinians sneaked out of the church at 7 a.m. and attacked Israeli soldiers with grenades. Palestinian officials said Israeli soldiers had opened fire on the church and shot dead the policeman when he tried to extinguish the blaze.

More than 200 armed Palestinians have been holed up since last week in the church, believed by Christians to be built on the site where Jesus was born. Church officials have repeatedly warned Israeli forces not to damage the site.

As they have for days, the two sides traded blame again this afternoon. "They caused the damage," said Yaron Sideman, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official. "The whole provocation was from the people inside, who are murderers."

Bethlehem's governor, Muhammad al-Madani, one of the Palestinians officials inside the church, said in a telephone interview with Reuters that Israeli gunners on two tanks south of the church and soldiers in the municipal building 100 yards away had opened fire on the building.

A priest inside the church, quoted by Reuters, said: "The Israeli soldiers carried out an armed attack on the Nativity Church. They set fire to the parish building in front of the basilica."

In his speech to the Israeli Parliament this morning, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon showed no signs of backing down in the confrontation. He called on the Palestinian gunmen to surrender and release priests that Israeli officials describe as hostages.

"Until then, the army will remain in its positions and prevent them from evading justice," Mr. Sharon said, but he promised that Israeli forces would not "defile" the church, apparently a reference to an attack.

Church officials have said the priests are not hostages and have chosen to remain in the sanctuary.

Roughly 200 Palestinians are believed to have taken shelter in the church, together with 4 nuns and 40 Franciscan monks.

Dr. Peter Qumri, director of a hospital in neighboring Beit Jalah, said a 22-year-old Palestinian man arrived at the hospital for treatment of a leg wound this afternoon. He said sporadic tank, machine gun and rifle fire echoed through Beit Jala and Bethlehem this afternoon.

"Just now the tank was in front of the hospital, and it was shooting," he said.

After the gun battle, officials in the Vatican issued a statement warning both Palestinians and Israelis that respecting holy sites was an "absolute priority."

"If the news coming from Bethlehem in these last few hours is confirmed, it would be a development that would aggravate an already dramatic situation," the statement said.

Archbishop Pietro Sanbi, the Vatican envoy to Israel, has told the Israeli authorities that respect for holy sites is an integral part of agreements with Israelis and Palestinians.

The statement added that the Holy See was watching the standoff in Bethlehem with "extreme worry."

[connectthedots]

With a bit of trepedition and putting on my flame resistant suit, as an individual Christian, the Church of the Nativity is just a building. While it may have some possible historic meaning, its survival has absolutely no significance to the Body of Christ, i.e. the speading of the Gospel and the fellowship of believers. The Church is not a building.

[GeronL]

places are not holy. buildings are not holy. does this writer even know any christians?

And what dumb chrsitian would allow terrorists to take sanctuary in their church?

[GeronL]

bump.

what you said.

[kattracks]

And what dumb chrsitian would allow terrorists to take sanctuary in their church?

I don't think they had a choice in the matter.

[JSteff]

Archbishop Pietro Sanbi, the Vatican envoy to Israel, has told the Israeli authorities that respect for holy sites is an integral part of agreements with Israelis and Palestinians.

Then I guess the Vatican is strongly on the side of Israel considering the history of the Palistinians, and Arabs in general with treating the holy places of other religions.

[GeronL]

They didn't have to stay. They didn't have to do phone interviews defending the Palestinians.

[GeronL]

Did he tell Arafat that respect for holy sites means Palestinians should not be invading churches??

[kattracks]

Some of them are doing phone interviews, true, but according to reports from the priests who were released, they were hostages.

[JSteff]

The Church is not a building.

That sadly is true only to religions other than Islam. Their behavior towards the places of religious history and meaning to other religions is abysmal. What they have done and are doing has meaning to them in what they are trying to say to people of other faiths. So I don't think it is something to be ignored or taken lightly.

[Governor StrangeReno]

Once upon a time this would of launched 1000 ships

[crystalk]

It is a source of continuing discouragement to me that so many Americans, including some Christians, are so ignorant as to imagine that Christianity does not have any holy places or buildings, or that the Church of the Nativity and other important holy places are "just brick and mortar," etc.

People who are that ill-traveled and that unaware of the history of Christianity and the world, should just shut up. They are only displaying their lack of knowledge. Christians have thousands of important holy places throughout the world, but the ones in and around Israel and Jerusalem are by far the holiest of all.

MR SHARON, TEAR DOWN DOME OF ROCK TODAY!

[GeronL]

1000 ships??

do you realize the navy has been cut drastically in the past 11-12 years? =o)

[Governor StrangeReno]

You know about 500 years ago when Yurop was Christian

[GeronL]

The so-called Crusades??

Which were defensive, they wanted to stop the invasion of Europe by Islam. Islam got all the way to Albania I guess...

Now they have gotten into Europe

[dougherty]

You tell 'em. Great post.

[Governor StrangeReno]

Unfortunately you need a really good stink to get a good leader...ones coming,but I dont think theres too much left in the Western world worthy of leading-with a whimper not a bang-just like Rome

[Birdwatcher]

This is the difference between Christianity and Islam. The Muslims would go berserk if the Israelis occupied their Dome of the Crock. We Christians just go ho hum. Some even blame the Israelis even though it is some Palestinian pieces of crap that holed themselves up in the church.

[sheik yerbouty]

They shouldn't occupy the dome, they should have it moved like London Bridge, or more quickly like the swastika on the reich chancellery in 1945.