Heavy gunfire was heard this evening at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, where Israeli soldiers are locked in a two-week-old standoff with Palestinian gunmen holed up inside, witnesses said.
Reporters in the area said it appeared to be an exchange of fire between Palestinians inside and Israeli troops surrounding the church, built on the spot revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus.
He said the fighting had only lasted about half an hour, and that the incident ended with no apparent change in the standoff. Mr Mohammed Al-Madani, the governor of Bethlehem who is among those trapped inside, said the Israelis had tried to storm the church but failed. "They tried to get in, but they couldn't," he told reporters by telephone. "There are no injuries, thank God."
An Israeli army spokeswoman had earlier said the army was "operating in the area", but declined to elaborate. A Polish Franciscan monk inside the church told reporters by telephone that the exchange of fire lasted for about an hour. "We could hear heavy rifle and tank shooting. It is hard for us to determine who started the shooting," said Father Seweryn Lubecki. "It seems that the basilica was not damaged. The Israeli soldiers are very careful not to damage it."
Palestinian officials said about 100 Palestinians, some of them gunmen, and dozens of monks and nuns are trapped inside the church, which Israel has repeatedly said it will not damage.
Israel says there are some 100 gunmen in the church, including 30 who had been involved in deadly attacks on Israelis. During the exchange, four flares lit up the sky, while the church bell rang in the background. A statement from those inside, which was sent to a local hospital official, said the Israeli army was arresting family members to put them under pressure to give themselves up. But it said the plan would not succeed.
The Israeli army said it only arrested people it suspected of "terrorist" activity and did not use arrests to exert any psychological pressure on others. Earlier, the Israeli army evacuated two Palestinians needing medical attention from the church in a military ambulance. The Israeli army said both men, one of them wounded by gunshot wounds several days ago, were placed under arrest.