Israel tanks and troops near Church of Nativity

(29 May 2002)

1. Israeli armoured personnel carrier (APC) in front of the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square
2. Israeli soldiers patrolling
3. Israeli soldiers on top of APC on the Manger Square
4. Israeli vehicles
5. Israeli snipers aiming rifles out of a window
6. Interior shot from behind sniper
7. Various shots of Israeli soldiers relaxing in a corridor
8. Israeli Army Spokesman Lt. Col. Doron talking to other soldier in Manger Square
9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Lt. Col. Doron, Israeli army spokesman:
"The operation will end here and the other places when we feel that the Israelis in Tel Aviv, in Petach Tikva, their nine-month-old and two-years-old babies can be within a coffee shop and other places without blowing up."
10. Soldiers in Manger Square
11. Various of Palestinians walking between tanks in Bethlehem streets
12. Woman crossing road in front of tanks with two children
13. Group of boys sitting on roadside with soldiers and tanks in background
14. Arrested Fatah leader Ahmed Mogharabi's house in Bethlehem's Dehshe refugee camp
15. Broken window of Mogharabi's house, pulls to wide shot
16. Wide shot of Mogharabi's house
17. Close up of Israeli soldier sitting on tank with Church of the Nativity in background
18. Wide of tanks and soldiers in Manger Square

STORYLINE:

Israeli soldiers were black in Bethlehem on Wednesday, once again rounding up hundreds of Palestinian men and manning tanks in front of the Church of the Nativity.

Reporters say this time there's no standoff at the traditional site of Jesus' birth.

Residents said dozens of tanks and jeeps and about 200 Israeli soldiers moved from house to house on Monday and Tuesday, taking men aged 20 to 45 in for questioning at the school yard.

Some were held until 2 a.m. Wednesday. About two dozen were arrested, blindfolded and handcuffed. Most were released.

Lt. Col. Doron, an Israeli military spokesman, said the new arrest sweep in Bethlehem was aimed at stopping suicide attacks like Monday's blast at an ice cream parlour in Petach Tikva on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

On Wednesday morning, Bethlehem's people had been kept indoors by an Israeli army curfew for 48 hours straight.

When the restrictions were lifted for a few hours later in the day, many residents hurried out to stock up on food.

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