Posted on 04/20/2002 2:36:38 PM PDT by TheOtherOne
PALESTINE: Besieged in Bethlehem church say food runs short.
By Michael Georgy
16:35 ET
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2002.
BETHLEHEM, West Bank, April 20 (Reuters) - Besieged civilians in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity said on Saturday they were almost out of food while the Israeli army was reinforcing positions around the holy site.
"Tomorrow we will have nothing left to eat. The situation has become very dire and difficult," a Palestinian policeman inside the church said by telephone.
The army encircled the church, built where Jesus is thought to have been born, three weeks ago in a bid to seize 30 wanted Palestinian militants sheltering there with some 200 others - Palestinian police and civilians and foreign and local priests and nuns.
"We have virtually no food left. The situation is very bad," said Mohammed al-Madani, Palestinian governor of Bethlehem, which Israel reoccupied along with other West Bank towns to root out militants responsible for suicide attacks on Israelis.
Al-Madani, speaking to Reuters by telephone from inside the church, said the army was throwing up ladders just outside the compound and had cut telephone lines to neighbouring houses.
A Palestinian official in constant contact with people inside the church said: "There is a lot of unusual movement."
"They have boosted the number of soldiers around the church, and we are hearing the sounds of many APCs (armoured personnel carriers) around us," said a policeman inside the church.
The army had no immediate comment.
It has repeatedly said it will not storm or harm the church and has denied Palestinian accusations that soldiers have wantonly targeted the 1,700-year-old building, revered by Christians around the world.
One of the policemen in the church said the army had put up a tower outside the compound with surveillance devices on it.
FOOD "ALMOST GONE"
"We've been told by the cooks that the food has almost run out. We were living on rice and spaghetti and now it's almost gone. There's no salt. We're mostly on water," he said.
Attempts at mediation to end the standoff have proved fruitless. Face-to-face talks set for Thursday were postponed indefinitely because of a dispute about who should attend.
Resolving the stalemate will be crucial to any wider ceasefire deal 18 months into a Palestinian uprising for independence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israel says its troops will not leave Bethlehem until the siege is resolved to its satisfaction, preventing a complete withdrawal from West Bank towns reoccupied three weeks ago.
Israeli officials say gunmen entered the church when the army came because they knew the Israelis would not attack a holy site. They say troops have shot only at those who fired at them.
The Palestinians insist no shots have been fired at Israeli troops from inside the church but say Israeli forces have attempted to storm the church and fired at it directly.
Israeli authorities say the gunmen are holding the others "hostage". Palestinians in the church and a teenager who escaped say the gunmen did not force their way in but were welcomed by priests.
Hmm
Not exactly a "besieged civilian".
[shrugs] Eat the Pallies...
Mark W.
That's agood 1st step.
Their cooks?
The first two words are a dead giveaway that the rest of this Reuters story is full of their usual bias.
Yeah, sure ... they're civilians.
They could leave at any time, except that they want to aid and abet terrorists who are currently with them.
Am I missing anything?
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