BATTLE LOOMS IN BETHLEHEM AT CHRIST

BETHLEHEM CHURCH DOOR BLOWN OPEN

JERUSALEM, Apr 4, 02 (CWNews.com) -- A door to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem has been blown open, apparently by Israeli soldiers. But Israeli troops have not entered the shrine.

Eyewitnesses inside the church have told the Fides news service that a back door was brought down by explosives on Thursday morning.

Dozens of armed Palestinians, who had sought refuge in the church on Tuesday, have reportedly moved into the adjacent Franciscan monastery.

On Wednesday, Israeli defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer had announced that Israeli troops would not enter the Church of the Nativity, which stands on the site of Jesus’ birth. That assurance does not apply to the Franciscan monastery.

JERUSALEM, Apr 3, 02 (FIDES/CWNews.com) -- A bloody battle could break out at any moment in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity, the Fides news service reports. And dozens of priests and religious could be caught in a crossfire.

About 200 armed Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the Church of the Nativity on Tuesday night. Outside the church, in Manger Square, Israeli tanks are poised. The Israeli troops demand the surrender of the Palestinians trapped inside.

Fides notes that 40 Franciscan friars and nuns who serve at the Church of the Nativity are caught between the two armed groups—as are about 30 more Orthodox and Armenian monks. A nearby Brigittine convent is also endangered, as about ten Palestinian soldiers have taken refuge in that building.

The director of the Fides news service, Father Bernardo Cervellera, has called for a short cease-fire, and the peaceful evacuation of the area surrounding the shrine. Such a step, he points out, “would be a sign of faith and reasoning.”

During the cease-fire, Father Cervellera proposes, the Israeli troops would back off, allowing the armed Palestinians to leave the building. He continues: “This will guarantee the lives of the journalists, the friars, the nuns and the Orthodox and Armenian monks, and it will preserve the church built over the birthplace of the Prince of Peace which will stand henceforth as a memorial to say that if men respect God they can make peace.”

Pray for the safety of all involved.

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