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Posted on 04/07/2002 11:04:58 PM PDT by Jean S
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli forces on Monday shot at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, one of Christianity's holiest sites, after a standoff with gunmen trapped inside, the city's governor said.
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The Israeli army said gunmen had opened fire from the church compound and it blamed the fire on the people inside, saying they had thrown grenades.
It said two soldiers had been hurt and that soldiers had "fired toward the source of the shooting" as they rescued the wounded men.
Madani said soldiers in the municipality building 100 meters (yards) to the west and gunners in two tanks to the south were shooting at the church, which Christians believe marks the site of Jesus's birth.
It was also not immediately clear if some 200 gunmen and civilians trapped inside the church with several members of the clergy were firing back. They burst in there last Tuesday and took refuge after tanks and troops entered the city.
Army commandos were on the roof of the church, and helicopters hovered overhead.
A priest inside the church compound 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."
"Palestinians inside the basilica tried to put out the fire and one of them (Israeli soldiers) opened fire and killed a Palestinian. There is damage to the face of the Church itself," he said.
A Reuters correspondent watching from nearby said she heard Israeli soldiers shouting through loudhailers for those inside to give themselves up.
In Rome, the Franciscans condemned the shooting at the church.
Father David Jaeger, spokesman for custodians of Catholic sites in the Holy Land, who is currently in Rome, told Reuters: "This is an act of indescribable barbarity. It is a violation of every law of humanity and civilisation.
"It is a violation of the explicit and repeated public and diplomatic guarantees of the State of Israel with consequences that will be long-term and incalculable," he said.
The Israeli army is the 11th day of a sweep of the West Bank for militants following a spate of Palestinian suicide bombings. Its tanks and troops entered Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem, last Tuesday.
I'll assume you accidentally left off the sarcasm tag.
I have noticed that too.
So again, what was the name of the church? By the way, I know about Monte Casino if you would have taken the time to read the thread. I noticed that you didn't show pictures of what it looks like today after we rebuilt it.
The fact remains this is an issue you forment on every thread.
Can't be on FR much and miss it.
You don't debate anything, Larry Liar. You lie and then we have to follow the breadcrumbs to get to the root of it. All too often, the root is you. You aren't BEING stalked on Free Republic, you are the Jew-stalker who hides behind smokescreens and halftruths and then huffs and puffs trying to wiggle your way through when you are called on it. I haven't seen you post a true thing since........
The above statement is what you initially posted. Italian soldiers surrounded in a church doesn't in the least have anything to do with Monte Casino. The Germans were using the monastary as an artillery observation point to stop our advance in the valley until we bombed it. Unfortunately the Germans moved into the rubble and continued to use it. That has nothing to do with your comment of Italian soldiers seeking refuge while being surrounded by the allied forces. And we rebuilt the monastary after the war.
We've been even less successful at restoring to life the 100 non-combattant refugees killed in that wanton bombing.
Relax, chill out, put your feet up and read a good book.Life isn't all that bad.
You want another one? On July 19, 1943, 250 Allied bombers pounded Rome in a 2 1/2 raid in which 2,000 civilians were killed. Among the vital military targets destroyed were a group of streetcars, the ancient (sixth century) basilica of San Lorenzo (largely destroyed), and a nearby cemetery where the bodies of the dead, including the late parents of Pope Pius XII, were blasted from their graves.
The bombing occured February 14, 1944 and as already written it fell in May. Not bad for no Germans being around.
You know Mr. Lied, i took you off my tw*t-list and put you on my tw*t-list instead, so I can post to you. You're just too much squishy fun. So now it's the ol' Polish angle, huh? Trying to get into the Slavic Club? You know that even SamFran threw them out, of course :)).
And of course, your post has nothing to do with what we're talking about. Are you really that scatterbrained or just trying out the lameduck suit?
Hehe. There might be a game in here somewhere. Lameduck-suit Larry. Leisure-suit Larry was trying to get laid. Wonder what Lameduck-suit Larry's goal would be...
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