ROME - Israeli forces will continue their siege of the Church of the Nativity until Palestinian gunmen inside surrender, the president of Israel has informed Pope John Paul II.
Despite Israel's "respect and consideration" for Christian holy places, "we have no alternative but to prevent armed Palestinian terrorists, who have murdered innocent Jews and taken refuge in a holy Christian sanctuary, from escaping and continuing their acts of bloodshed," President Moshe Katsav said in a letter released Wednesday by his country's embassy to the Holy See.
The pontiff has repeatedly expressed his distress at the violence in the Middle East and the fact that it has reached the church built over the site where Christians believe Jesus was born. Israeli tanks surround the church, where the siege in now in its second week.
On Wednesday, an Armenian Orthodox monk was wounded at the church compound. The Israeli army and Palestinians each claimed the other had opened fire on him.
The Vatican had no immediate comment on the shooting or Katsav's letter. Representatives of Franciscan monks holed up in the compound also had no comment on the shooting.
Katsav said Israeli forces are under orders not to fire on churches. They intend "to extricate these Palestinian terrorists unharmed from the Church" but will "continue to refrain from taking actions that may harm the Church or its clergy."
He said that ending the siege by giving the gunmen safe conduct would "constitute a grave danger to public safety" and Israel had "no choice but to maintain our presence in the immediate area."
The Franciscans said in a statement that the Israeli military had asked to speak with a Palestinian representative. "We cling to hope that from the dialogue could be born some peaceful attempt to end this dramatic situation," they said.
The Vatican has agreements with both Israel and with the Palestinian Authority providing for the respect of holy places.
Local church officials and Vatican diplomats have been trying to help resolve the standoff. At his public audience Wednesday, the pontiff said he was praying for "success in the efforts by various sides to overcome the tragic situation."
As he passed through the crowd offering his blessing, someone held aloft a flagpole flying both Israeli and Palestinian flags.
In his letter, which was dated April 9, Katsav accuses the Palestinians of "repeatedly" desecrating churches and "abusing them as a base of operations." It also describes the Israeli military campaign as response to a "massive wave of violent terror."