Israel's Threat of an Attack on a Church Is Pulled Back
Facing continued images in the news media of tanks leveling their guns at unarmed men at the church's entrance, and new accounts of hardship and solidarity inside from Palestinians who have emerged, the Israeli military repeatedly insisted that the standoff was actually a hostile seizure by about 30 terrorists. It said the people inside — including Palestinian officials and civilians, as well clergymen from three Christian denominations — were the terrorists' hostages.

The description contrasted sharply with the accounts of three young Palestinians who emerged from the church on Thursday to help carry two bodies. They said the people inside the church had taken shelter to escape the Israeli assault on Bethlehem's market early this month, and had stayed inside voluntarily to support the entrapped gunmen.
"Nobody can tell them to go out or to stay," said Fuad Hasan al-Aham, 19, one of the Palestinians who left the church at gunpoint on Thursday and were released by Israel early this morning. "The decision to leave or stay is a very personal one."

Mr. Aham said the Palestinians inside were content to remain another month, even though they had run out of food and were subsisting on a broth of boiled water and grass.

"The young men inside feel their presence is very important," Mr. Aham said, explaining that they help keep the grounds clean and stand watch, ready to assist the gunmen if Israel attacks.

The released men said Israeli snipers frequently shot into the church's windows and courtyard. At times, they said, civilians seeking food were shot at; also, they said, some religious objects had been damaged.

More shooting occurred today, as gunfire reverberated in Manger Square at about 3 p.m. About an hour later, a familiar scene repeated itself, as an Israeli tank and teams of infantrymen advanced in front of the tiny Door of Humility, and two Palestinians, freshly wounded by gunfire, were brought out on stretchers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/27/international/middleeast/27BETH.html