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The Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem lasted from April 2 to May 10, 2002 in Bethlehem in the West Bank. As part of Operation Defensive Shield, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) occupied Bethlehem and tried to capture suspected Palestinian militants.〔('Monks urge end to Bethlehem siege,' ) BBC News 12 April, 2002〕 Dozens of them fled into the Church of the Nativity and sought refuge. In addition there were some 200 monks resident in the church and many Palestinians who had arrived at the site for different reasons. The Franciscan order maintained no hostages were held, while Israeli sources claimed the monks and others were being held hostage by gunmen. After 39 days, an agreement was reached, according to which the militants turned themselves in to Israel and were exiled to Europe and the Gaza Strip. ==Prelude== The IDF expected the operation in Bethlehem to be relatively simple, after the Paratroopers Brigade had raided the city several times in the previous months. The mission was given to a reserve infantry brigade, the Jerusalemite Brigade, under the command of Colonel Rami Tzur-Hacham. During previous IDF entries into the city, wanted persons found shelter in the Church of the Nativity. This time, a force from the Shaldag Unit was sent to block the entrance to the site.〔Harel and Isacharoff (2004), p. 247〕 The troops were airlifted into the city and met disorganized Palestinian resistance. Israeli Air Force helicopters landed the force half an hour too late. When the force arrived, the wanted persons were already there. Dozens of militants, Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Palestinian Security Forces men fled into the church to fortify, along with some 200 monks and other Palestinians who arrived at the site for different reasons, whom Israel claimed were held as hostages by the gunmen,〔 an argument denied by Giacomo Bini Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, who stated: I wish to firmly state that the Friars and Sisters of the religious community in Bethlehem cannot be considered as hostages. They have freely chosen to remain in that place, the custody of which has been entrusted to them by the Holy See, and which constitutes their home. The other 200 Palestinians besieged inside the Basilica have taken refuge there by force in order to flee from the sweep and search by the Israeli army, just as had happened to the 5 Italian journalists during the first day of the siege. Up to now they have not committed any act of violence or abuse of power against the religious community.〔(‘Franciscan proposal to end the siege of the balisica in Bethlehem,’ ) Zenit News Agency,April 11, 2002.〕 A senior Tanzim commander, Abdullah Abu-Hadid added: "The idea was to enter the church in order to create international pressure on Israel....We knew beforehand that there was two years' worth of food for 50 monks. Oil, beans, rice, olives. Good bathrooms and the largest wells in old Bethlehem. You didn't need electricity because there were candles. In the yard they planted vegetables. Everything was there." Among the wanted persons in the church were the governor of Bethlehem, Muhammad al-Madani, and Abdullah Daoud, the Palestinian Authority intelligence chief in Bethlehem.〔Harel and Isacharoff (2004), pp. 247-248〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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