Now, in reply to Mr. Levinson below who deleted my comment on his answer regarding the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, and our precious Church of Nativity. Here is the complete breakdown of events:
As part of Operation Defensive Shield, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) occupied Bethlehem and tried to capture suspected Palestinian resistant fighters. Dozens of them fled into the Church of the Nativity and sought refuge. IDF surrounded the site and besieged the suspected Palestinian fighters and civilians at the site, which included approximately 200 monks resident in the church and other Palestinians who had arrived at the site for other reasons. The Franciscan order maintained no hostages were held, while Israeli sources made dishonest claims that the monks and others were being held hostage by gunmen.
Father Giacomo Bini, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, published a statement in which he stated that the Israeli soldiers appear to have occupied part of the Franciscan monastery:
In the name of all the Friars Minor, of those in the Holy Land in particular, I wish to clarify some points that have not emerged clearly up to now, or could be misunderstood, and present some demands.
1. The Need for an Immediate Humanitarian Intervention
2. The Friars in Bethlehem Are Not Hostages
3. A Possible Solution
1. The situation that has come about in the complex of buildings of the Nativity in Bethlehem, part of which pertains to the Custody of the Holy Land, and which has already lasted for two weeks, requires an urgent humanitarian intervention. Since yesterday evening, the supplies of water and food have run out; the removal of the body of the young Palestinian killed has not been permitted; it is not possible to provide suitable care to the other gravely wounded Palestinians; the supply of electric power, available in adjacent buildings, has been cut off from the Franciscan Convent alone; permission has been denied to enter the “Casa Nova,” a structure for the reception of Pilgrims and an integral part of our Convent; it is feared that special forces of the Israeli Army are already in position inside.
2. I wish to firmly state that the Friars and Sisters of the religious community in Bethlehem cannot be considered as hostages. They have freely chosen to remain in that place, the custody of which has been entrusted to them by the Holy See, and which constitutes their home. The other 200 Palestinians besieged inside the Basilica have taken refuge there by force in order to flee from the sweep and search by the Israeli army, just as had happened to the 5 Italian journalists during the first day of the siege. Up to now they have not committed any act of violence or abuse of power against the religious community.
3. While expressing the most absolute condemnation of every act of violence — from whichever side it comes from — we confirm our solidarity with all those who suffer as a consequence of the serious conflict taking place. In order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe, a pointless spilling of blood, which would inevitably lead to a worsening of the hatred between the parties, we urgently request that the Palestinians be allowed to leave the building of the Nativity, guaranteeing them their life, and thus permitting our Communities to take up their work of pacification once again. Such a solution would open up a fresh glimmer of hope for dialogue, the only way to procure a civilized coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, and which would guarantee an honorable way out to all parties concerned.
The whole world is watching with attention that which is happening in the Place where Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, was born. Millions of men and women are waiting for the renewal of the miracle of new life that overcomes all thoughts and actions of death. We continue to receive moving testimonies of solidarity with our brothers, who are facing up with admirable equanimity to the difficulties associated with the dramatic situation in which they live.
To all — journalists, communications operators, men and women of good will — we ask that you act, in accordance with your possibilities, to favor an equitable conclusion to this event. It would be a sign of hope and a promise of stability for the future of this Holy and bloodstained Land.
On 3 April, the IDF deployed tanks near Manger Square, opposite the church, and Israeli Army snipers took up positions on the surrounding buildings. They were instructed to fire at anyone spotted inside the church, searching out targets with laser beams.
On 4 April, Samir Ibrahim Salman the bellringer of the Church was shot several times in the chest and murdered by an Israeli sniper.
On 5 April, 4 Franciscan monks left the church . Israeli sources made dishonest claims again and said they were told the clergy had been taken hostage, while the Franciscan order maintained they were present there voluntarily in order to express solidaritywith the Palestinians and to prevent bloodshed.
On 7 April, Vatican City warned Israel to respect religious sites in line with its international obligations. Spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that the Vatican was following events "with extreme apprehension". A spokesman for Catholic monks in the Holy Land accused the Israelis of "indescribable act of barbarity".
Israel had broken its international obligations and risked "long-term and incalculable" consequences, Father David Jaeger said.
Speaking from Rome, he said monks at the church had reported damage to "sacred spaces" and evidence that Israeli troops had entered the church.
On 8 April, The Israeli army falselyclaimed that Palestinian gunmen provoked a fire which broke out near the Church of the Nativity on Monday. They claimed that Gunmen had opened fire from a belltower, wounding two Israeli border policemen in a nearby rooftop look-out, an army officer told Reuters news agency. He said the Israelis returned fire and a smoke grenade started the blaze in a second-floor meeting hall overlooking the Basilica of St Catherine, adjacent to the Church of the Nativity.
One Palestinian gunman was shot dead in the battle, the Israeli source said.
However, a priest inside the church, Father Amjad Sabbara, told the BBC and exposed the Israeli forces claims, and made it clear that the Palestinian killed was a police officer who had been trying to douse the flames.
He said the blaze had burned for an hour, destroying a piano, chairs, altar cloths and ceremonial cups.
Father Sabbara estimated that there were 240 people in the church. Some were armed, he said, but they were "not using their arms".
Abu Hatem, a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Palestinian resistance movement barricaded in the church, said by cellular phone from inside the building:
"We will never shoot except to defend the dignity of the church, the priests and ourselves."
The Mayor of Bethlehem, Hanna Nasser, told the BBC that mosaics inside the Basilica of St Catherine had been "affected by the bullets".
British Foreign Office Minister, Ben Bradshaw described Israeli actions in the area as "totallyunacceptable".
On 10 April, an Armenian monk was also wounded, having been shot by Israeli forces, according to an Israeli spokesman, because he wore civilian clothes and ”seemed to be armed.“
On 11 April, the head of the Franciscan order, Giacomo Bini formally requested that the Palestinians be allowed to leave the church with a guarantee that their lives be protected, and that water and power be restored to the Church while the spokesman for the order reminded Israeli Jews of the role the Franciscan order had played in protecting Jews from the Holocaust by offering them sanctuary during WW2. The Vatican news agency Fides reported that these appeals were dismissed bythe Israeli Government with the words:
"Stop bothering us".
On 14 April, the Palestinians rejected an unacceptable Israeli offer by Ariel Sharon for those inside the church either to hand themselves over for trialin Israel or go into permanent exile abroad. Another Palestinian was killed.
16 April saw the fiercest exchange of fire near the building since the beginning of the siege. One Palestinian was wounded in the stomach and another suffered from epilepsy. They were evacuated to a hospital. Two Japanese tourists wandered into the church perimeters by mistake, and were rescued by journalists.
Israel has been keeping up the psychological pressure on those holed up inside the church, bombarding it with ear-splitting, shrieking noises which aim to disorientate those inside.
The Israelis have also been flying flares and sending fireworks over the church, which has responded by ringing its bells.
One sixteen-year-old Palestinian, ran away from the church and gave himself up to the IDF.
The stand-off has provoked outrage from the Vatican, which has accused Israel of reneging on its obligation to protect religious sites.
On 17 April, Israeli soldiers shot and wounded a Palestinian after he had left the church, and a priest who had fallen ill was evacuated.
On 20 April, the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem called upon Christians worldwide to make the upcoming Sunday a "solidarity day" for the people in the church and the church itself, and called for immediate intervention to stop what it referred to as the "inhuman measures against the people and the stone of the church".
On 23 April, negotiations to end the siege began in the Peace Center. The negotiations were mediated by the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative in Bethlehem, Canon Andrew White.
After two days of negotiations, the Palestinians were willing to discuss a possible deportation of the Palestinian resistance fighters in the church to what a senior official called a "friendly foreign country". Then an exchange of fire took place initiated by the Israeli forces. Two Palestinians were wounded, and four surrendered to the IDF.
On 30 April, Israeli officials said that at least thirty people would soon exit the church. Israel said it wanted to try them within Israel, or alternatively exile them. The Palestinians demanded that those men be moved to the Gaza Strip and others passed under Palestinian Authority control for trial.
On 1 May, twenty-six people came out of the church. IDF spokesman Olivier Rafowicz said one of them was a senior Palestinian security official. He was taken away for questioning.
On 2 May, ten international activists, including members of the International Solidarity Movement, were successful in their attempts to bypass soldiers and enter the church, where they announced they intended to remain until the IDF lifted the siege. The next day, another group of international activists delivered food and water, which were in short supply among those inside.
On 5 May, British and American diplomats arrived. It was suggested that about ten of the palestinian fighters would be exiled to Jordan. Between six and eight of the fighters were to be exiled to Italy, while as many as forty others were to be sent to Gaza. The remaining were to be freed.
The agreement fell through on 8 May, after Italy refused to accept thirteen Palestinian fighters. The Italian government said it had received no formal request to take them.
On 9 May it was agreed that twenty-six palestinian fighters were to go to the Gaza Strip, eighty-five Palestinian civilians were to be checked by the IDF and then released and the thirteen most wanted, including Daoud, would remain in the church, monitored by a European Union official, until they could be transferred to British Army custody and moved to Italy and Spain, after those countries agreed in principle to accept them. Al-Madani was the first to walk out of the church.
On 10 May, the thirteen men left the church, and were taken to Ben Gurion International Airport in an armored bus, where a Royal Air Force transport plane awaited to take them to Cyprus. They were greeted by Sherard Cowper-Coles, the British Ambassador to Israel, thirty members of the Royal Military Police, and a Royal Air Force doctor. They laid down their arms to the IDF behind a curtain, to avoid the photographers. They were denied permission to meet with their families and say farewell before their exile.
A total of 8 Palestinians had been killed, and an Armenian monk was also wounded.
Israeli soldiers had caused heavy damage to dozens of cars. Soldiers also vandalized Arafat's office in the presidential palace in the city.
As for damage to the cultural heritage site, ICOMOS estimated the damage at a total of US$1.4 million, primarily grades 3 and 4, and loss in urban furniture. Direct damage to the church complex from projectiles and fire was estimated to total about US$77,000.
It’s crystal clear that Israel was the aggressor here against Palestinians, their heritage and religious sites.
Palestinian fighters and monks , 2/4/2002
Monks carrying a Palestinian murdered by Israeli forces, April/2002.