wfn.org | 23-Year-Old Monk Shot in Bethlehem Standoff

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For further information:
Fr. Raed Abusahlia
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
P.O.Box  14152 - Jerusalem 97500
E-mail address: <A HREF="mailto:latinpat@actcom.co.il";>latinpat@actcom.co.il</A>
Personal e-mail: <A HREF="mailto:nonviolence@writeme.com";>nonviolence@writeme.com</A>
Patriarchate's Homepage: <A HREF="http://www.lpj.org/";>http://www.lpj.org</A>
Personal Homepage: <A HREF="http://go.to/nonviolence";>http://go.to/nonviolence</A>
Fr. Labib's Homepage: <A HREF="http://www.al-bushra.org/";>http://www.al-bushra.org</A>

JERUSALEM, APRIL 10, 2002 --  A 23-year-old Armenian monk was seriously 
wounded this morning in the premises of Bethlehem's Basilica of the Nativity, 
but not in danger of death, according to the Zenit news organization. 

The monk was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem. 

"He has still not recovered consciousness," Bishop Shirvanian Aris, director 
of ecumenical and foreign relations of the Patriarchate of the Armenian 
Orthodox Church in the Holy Land, told the Misna <http://www.misna.org/> 
missionary agency. 

"The doctors have stopped the intense hemorrhage and have described his 
condition as stable.  He might possibly be operated on Wednesday night or 
Thursday morning," the bishop said. 

The wounded monk is Armen Fianian, a novice of the Armenian community, which 
resides in the old monastery of the basilica. He was in his cell when he was 
hit in the back by a bullet. 

"We still cannot confirm if the shot came from the Israeli or Palestinian 
band," Bishop Aris explained. 

The Palestinians holed up in the church blamed Israeli soldiers.  For its 
part, the Israeli army said the monk was wounded by Palestinians who started 
shooting when Israeli soldiers tried to take medicines and food to the monks. 

There are six monks in the buildings of the Armenian Orthodox community.   
Asked if they would be evacuated, Bishop Aris answered: "It is an issue that 
is out of the question at this time. The priority now is Armen's health." 

For over a week now, more than 200 Palestinians, most of them armed, have 
been holed up in the basilica.  The holy place is surrounded by the Israeli 
army, which periodically asks the Palestinians to surrender. 

"The tension is very high.  Frenetic work is being done in the hope of 
resolving the situation before it explodes in our hands, with new armed 
action," the spokesman of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, Father 
David Jaeger, told the Vatican agency Fides. 

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