Update: Rival clergy in mass brawl at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity
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-Pastor-Dale-Morgan-
Dec 28, 2011, 10:50:16 PM12/28/11
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Update: Rival clergy in mass brawl at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity
The annual Christmas cleanup at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity turned into a mass brawl on Wednesday as rival clergy from the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations attacked each other with broom sticks.
By Mark Weiss in Jerusalem
7:59PM GMT 28 Dec 2011
The Telegraph UK
Club- wielding Palestinian police stormed into the church, the traditional birthplace of Christ, to break up the fist fight which involved about 100 priests and monks.
The 6th Century holy site is jointly administered by the Latin, Orthodox and Armenian churches, with each fiercely guarding their turf against possible encroachment from the rival sects.
Bethlehem police Lieutenant-Colonel Khaled al-Tamimi said order was quickly restored and such scuffles between the rival clergy occur every year. "No one was arrested because all those involved were men of God," he explained.
Every year the different denominations co-operate in the annual Christmas cleaning operation which occurs between the Latin Christmas and early January, when the Orthodox sects celebrate Christmas.
Tension and scuffles between rival clergy are also common at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is also jointly administered by the Latin, Orthodox and Armenian churches.
The Palestinian Authority in Bethlehem, and Israel, which controls Jerusalem's Old City, adopted the delicate status quo in operation since the British mandate, under which no changes, however minor, can be made without the approval of all three denominations.
The result has been that the Church of the Nativity has fallen into a dangerous state of disrepair.
Last month, after years of arguments, the sects finally reached agreement to replace the church's leaking roof. The renovations, planned for next year, will mark the first major repairs in 150 years.
In a separate development, the Jerusalem municipality has approved the construction of another 130 homes in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Gilo, built over the Green line, on land captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war. The move is likely to anger the Palestinians, who insist that Israel must halt all settlement construction before direct peace talks can resume.
An announcement by Israel earlier this month that it intended to build more than a thousand new homes in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem was condemned by Britain, , which along with the other EU members of the United Nations Security Council -France, Germany and Portugal – issued a statement saying they were "dismayed by these wholly negative developments."
They said Israel's move to accelerate the construction of settlements in the West Bank "sends a devastating message" and they called on the Israeli government to cancel the construction.
Update: Rival clergy in mass brawl at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity
The annual Christmas cleanup at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity turned into a mass brawl on Wednesday as rival clergy from the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations attacked each other with broom sticks.
By Mark Weiss in Jerusalem
7:59PM GMT 28 Dec 2011
The Telegraph UK
Club- wielding Palestinian police stormed into the church, the traditional birthplace of Christ, to break up the fist fight which involved about 100 priests and monks.
The 6th Century holy site is jointly administered by the Latin, Orthodox and Armenian churches, with each fiercely guarding their turf against possible encroachment from the rival sects.
Bethlehem police Lieutenant-Colonel Khaled al-Tamimi said order was quickly restored and such scuffles between the rival clergy occur every year. "No one was arrested because all those involved were men of God," he explained.
Every year the different denominations co-operate in the annual Christmas cleaning operation which occurs between the Latin Christmas and early January, when the Orthodox sects celebrate Christmas.
Tension and scuffles between rival clergy are also common at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is also jointly administered by the Latin, Orthodox and Armenian churches.
The Palestinian Authority in Bethlehem, and Israel, which controls Jerusalem's Old City, adopted the delicate status quo in operation since the British mandate, under which no changes, however minor, can be made without the approval of all three denominations.
The result has been that the Church of the Nativity has fallen into a dangerous state of disrepair.
Last month, after years of arguments, the sects finally reached agreement to replace the church's leaking roof. The renovations, planned for next year, will mark the first major repairs in 150 years.
In a separate development, the Jerusalem municipality has approved the construction of another 130 homes in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Gilo, built over the Green line, on land captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war. The move is likely to anger the Palestinians, who insist that Israel must halt all settlement construction before direct peace talks can resume.
An announcement by Israel earlier this month that it intended to build more than a thousand new homes in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem was condemned by Britain, , which along with the other EU members of the United Nations Security Council -France, Germany and Portugal – issued a statement saying they were "dismayed by these wholly negative developments."
They said Israel's move to accelerate the construction of settlements in the West Bank "sends a devastating message" and they called on the Israeli government to cancel the construction.
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