Not far from the Israeli border, the Church of Nativity was built on the site of the manger where Jesus was born. To reach it, you have to hire a Palestinian cab that drives you through the winding dirt roads of Bethleem down to the Grotto.
Inside Franciscan priests guard and keep the site. Several masses are celebrated every day. This is with devotion and elation that the pilgrim kneels down to pray and reach with his hand to the exact spot where Jesus was laid in the hours after his birth.
That was then. For the past three weeks, the Church of Nativity is the asylum for about 200 Palestinians besieged by the Israeli army. Tanks are outside the temple, while the situation inside is reportedly awful. Water, electricity, and phone line are cut. Sanitary conditions are terrible; food is scarce.
From time to time, gunfire breaks out, a few grenades are thrown, then? nothing. One door of the church was blown. The Palestinians accuse the soldiers. The Israeli accuse the gunmen.
The last 48 hours have been intense. The Israeli have placed ladders against the walls, and asked the occupants to surrenders, or else...
Will they storm the church?
Foreign journalists are barred from the area. Their press passes are confiscated.
On both sides, patience is wearing thin. Christians all over the world are holding their breath, worrying of a fierce battle that would destroy one of the most sacred shrines of their faith.
Will the Church of Nativity be saved? Should the Israeli army pull out of Bethleem?
(OdlerRobert Jeanlouie, Tuesday, April 23, 2002)
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