GAZA, April 13 (UPI) -- The crisis around the Church of Nativity in the holy West Bank town of Bethlehem continued Saturday for the 11th day in a row as shooting erupted in the area.
Palestinian witnesses said Palestinian militants inside the church exchanged gunshots with Israeli troops who opened fire in the compound. Israeli troops have surrounded the church for 12 days.
Witnesses said a 60-year-old Palestinian civilian was seriously injured by the gunfire.
They also said a Palestinian police officer from Jabalya refugee camp was shot and killed by Israeli military snipers. He was among some 200 Palestinian militants inside the church, which Christians believe stands over the site of Christ's birthplace. About 60 monks and nuns remain inside the compound.
Israeli radio's Arabic service quoted an Israeli army spokesman as saying the military did not order the shootings. He said the troops are under instructions not to fire even if shots came first from inside the church.
"This is the Israeli response to international efforts to end the siege. We have been besieged here for 11 days. We have no food and no water and the Israeli snipers open fire at us," said one of the Fatah militants in the church.
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources in the West Bank town of Nablus said Israeli troops killed a member of the Islamic Hamas movement there. There were no immediate details.
