U.S. Pressure Said to Drive Talks on Siege at Church
Intense American pressure to resolve the monthlong standoff between Israelis and Palestinians at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem fueled a new round of negotiations today between senior officials from both sides, mediated by American diplomats.

American officials said the United States was pressing both sides to resolve the siege, which began early last month when Palestinian fighters took refuge in the church and Israeli troops surrounded it, demanding the gunmen's surrender.

But the United States has not offered to have American prison monitors play a role, as in the plan that ended a stalemate at Yasir Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah. On Thursday, American and British wardens observed the transfer of six men wanted by Israel to a Palestinian prison from Mr. Arafat's compound.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/05/international/middleeast/05MIDE.html