Israeli Troops Lock Down Bethlehem

Troops prevented Christians from praying at the church marking the traditional birthplace of Jesus on the first Sunday since Israel's reoccupation of Bethlehem.

There were no signs that the Israelis were close to ending their operation in Bethlehem, despite a request from the U.S. State Department to wind up activities and leave the biblical town as soon as possible, with Christmas just a month away.

Israeli forces rolled into Bethlehem, in the West Bank just south of Jerusalem, early Friday, after a Palestinian suicide bomber from Bethlehem blew himself up on a Jerusalem bus Thursday, killing 11 passengers and injuring more than 40 other people.

The army has been conducting house-to-house searches for militants there. Soldiers arrested a local Islamic Jihad leader on Sunday, the military said. Since Friday, more than 30 Palestinians have been detained, including three men believed to be connected to suicide bombing operations, army officers said.

Church bells rang Sunday, but Manger Square, like the streets of Bethlehem, was empty Sunday as soldiers enforced a strict curfew, confining the town's residents to their homes.

At the fortress-like 4th century Church of the Nativity, built over the grottos where, tradition holds, Jesus was born, a few monks and nuns sang hymns and prayed. Israeli forces allowed about 15 Franciscan monks to enter the ancient structure. Greek Orthodox priests celebrated a liturgy. The more modern St. Catherine's Church next door, where the Christmas Eve Mass is conducted, was empty.

The scene reminded the Rev. Ibrahim Faltas of an even more tense situation six months ago, when dozens of Palestinian gunmen fled into the church ahead of invading Israeli forces, setting off a 39-day stalemate.

Israeli forces encircled the church and demanded that the gunmen surrender. The standoff ended when Israel and the Palestinians agreed that 26 of the gunmen would be sent to Gaza and 13 others exiled to Europe.

Faltas, who is in charge of the church, said the scene was similar to the siege, when residents could not pray.

"The church is sad without worshippers, who are the lives of the church," he said. "On this Sunday we are praying for peace in Bethlehem and call on God to decrease the suffering of the people."

Israeli troops blocked off the entrance to the church and declared a curfew in the first stages of their incursion Friday to prevent gunmen from seeking refuge there again.

The suicide bombing and the Israeli incursion put an end to a test case agreed on by Israel and the Palestinians, aimed at reducing tensions that have grown steadily through more than two years of violence. Israeli forces pulled out of Bethlehem in mid-August, turning the town over to Palestinian security. The Israelis said the Palestinians had to control militants and stop attacks against Israelis.

There was a tentative agreement to extend the arrangement to Hebron, south of Bethlehem, but Israeli forces retook Palestinian neighborhoods of Hebron earlier this month after gunmen ambushed and killed 12 soldiers and security guards as Jewish settlers were returning from Sabbath prayers.

Now Israeli forces are in control of all the main Palestinian towns and cities in the West Bank, except for the isolated desert oasis of Jericho.

Also Sunday, Israel said it had a document that showed that the Palestinian Authority was planning to set up a factory to produce nitric acid, a key ingredient of explosives. Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, accused Rashid Abu Shabak, head of the Palestinian Preventive Security force in Gaza, of organizing the effort to make high-quality explosives.

Separately, Israel decided Sunday to transfer about US$15 million of frozen Palestinian Authority funds to Israeli companies to cover Palestinian debts, the Finance Ministry said. The Palestinians agreed to the payments.

Almost all of the money will go to the Israeli Electric Corporation to cover unpaid bills, according to an agreement reached between Israel and the Palestinians, Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayad said.

"We have an agreement whereby some of the money we deserve ... will be paid to cover debts to ensure a continuous supply" of electricity from the Israeli company to Palestinian municipalities, Fayad said.

During more than two years of Israel-Palestinian violence, Israeli has frozen US$534 million in taxes and customs collected from Palestinian laborers and merchants, charging that the Palestinian Authority is involved in terrorism and the money might be used to finance attacks. The Palestinians have denied the charges. According to interim peace accords, the money is supposed to be transferred to the Palestinian Authority.