OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 12 April — An envoy for the Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday offered personally to collect the corpse of a Muslim man who has lain unburied for four days in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity after being shot by Israeli troops besieging the shrine, which marks the place of Christ’s birth .
The 23-year-old policeman has been placed in a closed grotto after Christian clerics persuaded Palestinians holed up in the church not to go ahead with plans to bury him temporarily within yards of the supposed site of the manger. They feared that the presence of a grave for a man seen as a “martyr” by his Muslim Palestinian colleagues would set the stage for inter-faith conflict, complicating an already intense crisis that has caused outrage across the Christian world .
Khaled Syam, from the Gaza Strip, was shot by an Israeli sniper on Monday while fighting a fire which began close to the church when Israeli border troop commandos attempted to penetrate the compound, where more than 200 Palestinians — including monks and militiamen — have been confined for nine days .
According to Islamic custom, he should have been buried by sundown on the day of his death but Christian officials feared that this could worsen the crisis at the basilica, one of the holiest places in Christianity. By yesterday evening, there were no signs of a breakthrough in the standoff after attempts to convene negotiations between the two adversaries — a commission of negotiators appointed by Yasser Arafat and the Israeli Army — ended in deadlock.
“We have a total and utter mess at the moment,” said Canon Andrew White, director of the International Center of Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral and envoy for the archbishop, Dr. George Carey. The canon, who is acting as a mediator, said he would be willing to collect the body himself. A similar offer earlier in the week was not taken up. The young policemen remains in a closed Greek Orthodox grotto .
The issue is another element in an extraordinary saga in which Israeli forces positioned around the church have shot dead the basilica’s deaf bell-ringer and the Gazan policeman, and seriously injured a young Armenian deacon when a sniper shot his in the back.
Israeli forces, who have surrounded the basilica with tanks, snipers and troops, have been waging intense psychological warfare against those inside, whom the army claims include 10 wanted militants, including three from Hamas. At night, they have tossed in sound grenades and blasted the church with loudspeaker announcements demanding surrender .
Supplies of water and food are running low, and electricity has been cut off to parts of the compound. A Franciscan priest inside the besieged compound, Amjad Sabara, told The Independent yesterday that 10 of those holded up inside were injured, including one man with a serious leg injury caused by a bullet .
According to Canon White, nuns — four of whom are also holed up in the basilica — tried to sew up the badly injured man’s wounds with cotton thread. Medics from the International Committee for the Red Cross has been unable to get access to the church because it was unable to get security guarantees from both sides of the conflict.
Residents in the surrounding area — which includes Manger Square, once teeming with pilgrims, tourists and souvenir vendors — have been confined to their homes by a curfew, and risk being shot if they venture outside. The European Commission President, Romano Prodi appealed yesterday for the Israeli armed forces to end the siege.
“This situation is inhumane and it cannot be allowed to continue,” he said, “ I call on the Israel government to respect international humanitarian law and allow help to those in need.” He said the EU had requested several times in recent days to be allowed to take in aid, but received no response.
“The siege has been stepped up and hardened and the Franciscan brothers fear the Israeli Army will burst in any moment now, shedding more blood, still more blood, in one of the most sacred places for Christians.” The crowd inside the compound include Franciscan, Armenian and Greek Orthodox clerics, Bethlehem tourist police, Palestinian national security forces, local residents and officials — including the governor of Bethlehem — and members of the Tanzim and Hamas militias. The militiamen include 10 men wanted by Israeli, which accuses them of being involved in attacks against Israelis.
The Franciscans are pressing for a negotiated settlement in which the wanted men would be removed to the Gaza Strip. Franciscan Father David Jaeger, spokesman for the Custodians of the Holy Sites, said that the situation was “dire” and urged Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, who arrived last night in search of a truce, to intervene .
He said it would be “bizzare” for Gen. Powell to allow the crisis to continue unchecked, and called for him to get the opposing parties to agree to an immediate peaceful solution in which “those who do not belong in the church” are evacuated without bloodshed. (The Independent)
