Israeli tanks and helicopters on Tuesday shelled a heavily fortified Palestinian security headquarters in an all-night assault to flush out top fugitives, while fighting raged outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. At least 20 of the hundreds of people trapped inside the security compound were wounded, said Jibril Rajoub, the West Bank's Palestinian security chief. In Bethlehem, Israeli helicopter gunships hovering over Manger Square exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen near the Church of the Nativity, built over Jesus' traditional birth grotto. Nearby, a 65-year-old Italian priest was killed during an exchange of fire near his convent, a Rome-based news service said; that could not be confirmed independently.
I heard on the radio that the priest was uninjured.
Vatican emissary in Israel, Archbishop Pietro Sanbi nullified reports that Catholic priest Jacques Amateis, 65, was killed while holding a mass session with nurses in the Saint Mary's convent in Bethlehem. Sanbi told Israel Radio that the priest and nuns were not harmed and that the convent was working together with the IDF to safely evacuate Amateis and the nuns.
Yasser and the Eurowhores where so hoping the claim was true. |