wfn.org | Ten Wounded Trapped Inside Nativity Church, Lawyer Says

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By Edward Calis

     JERUSALEM, April 6, 2002--Tony Salman, a Palestinian lawyer trapped 
inside the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, told Via Dolorosa  through a 
cellular phone April 5 that there are currently 245 people inside the church, 
ten of whom are wounded waiting for a miracle to save their lives.

I just finished talking to one of the trapped people inside the Nativity
Church.  Lawyer Tony Salman is also the head of  the Catholic St. Anthony 
Charitable Foundation in Bethelehem. 

Salman explained how he ended up inside the Church by saying, "After
rumors circulated in Bethlehem alleging that the Palestinian resistance
forces attacked priests and took them as hostages, infuriated Bethelehem
Governer Muhammad Al Madani, called me and insisted that we enter the church 
together to investigate those rumors.  

"You know this is  a very sensitive subject in Palestine and we had to know 
the truth. So we entered the church from the western side and we were pleased 
to see the situation inside opposite to what we heard and exactly as we 
expected.  

"Priests and nuns are taking care of the wounded and are doing all they can 
to alleviate the dramatic situation. 

"Franciscans, Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests inside the church are 
making sure everyone is having something to eat. They exhausted all flour 
they had in store to make bread for everyone during the first two days. 

"Now evyerone is having one small meal a day which contains either a
little bit of spaghetti or rice, all that left in the church."
   
When asked why the Palestinian resistance took the church as refuge, Salman 
explained that they were left with two choices, either to be killed in cold 
blood by the Israeli occupation forces or run for their lives to the chrch. 
The chose the latter. 

This happened right after the Israeli tanks shelled Omar Bin Khattab mosque 
last tuesday located just across the church's square. They ran into the 
church for protection. 

"For the last 1700 years, the Church of the Nativity has embraced the poor 
and the persecuted and it will keep doing that in these difficult days too," 
Salman added.

He pointed out, "Usually, there are a lot of armed policemen and security 
agents protecting governmental buildings here. When the Israelis invaded the 
Nativity Church area, snipers targeted those armed policemen and started 
killing them without hesitation. Their only choice was to take refuge in the 
Nativity Church."

Salman assured that the Israelis tried to knock down the main door of the 
Nativity Church a number of times without success, but he said that they
succeeded to destroy part of a wall. 

He pointed out that his main mission together with the governer is to 
negotiate the wounded release with the Red Cross and the Red Crecscent. "So 
far we haven't been successful," he added.

-end-