Church bells rang in celebration Wednesday as Israel handed security control of the West Bank city of Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority, a step on the "road map" to peace in the Middle East.
CNN July 2, 2003NAZARETH, Israel (AP) � Bulldozers on Tuesday ripped out the foundations of a mosque being built next to the Basilica of the Annunciation, where Christians believe the Angel Gabriel foretold the birth of Jesus.
The construction had raised tensions between Christians and Muslims in Nazareth, Israel's largest Arab city, and brought criticism from the Vatican and the White House.
Muslim leaders complained that the demolition was a provocation.
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The demolition provoked outrage among Islamic leaders, adding to the anger mounting over a police decision to start allowing small groups of non-Muslims to visit a revered Islamic shrine in occupied Jerusalem, after barring them during the past 33 months of uprising.
Muslims call the Jerusalem shrine Haram Al Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, and venerate it as their third-holiest place after Mecca and Medina.
Police spokesman Gil Kleiman said that in recent weeks, organised groups of Israelis, and tourists of various religions have been allowed to tour the ancient hilltop under police escort. Kleiman said the mount � home to Islam's Al Aqsa Mosque compound � is still off limits to the general public.
However, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said that Jewish fanatics were being let in by police under the guise of being tourists, and that their "main aim is to harm the Haram Al Sharif."
Jordan Times July 2 2003Israeli soldiers were still at Rachel's tomb, a Jewish pilgrimage site they guard under the Oslo peace accords. But in the area around it, all shops were shut. Israel is planning to build a wall down the centre of the street, separating Amjad Awwad's house on one side from his shop on the other. The area is to be annexed to Israel to safeguard Jewish access to the tomb, which will mean hundreds of Palestinians there will be forced to live behind concrete walls, cut off from Bethlehem on one side and Jerusalem on the other.
"My cousin died in Ramallah," Nasser Dhamseh said. "I was not allowed to go for the funeral." His daughter lives in a nearby village. He cannot visit her. The withdrawal will not change this. "We've had withdrawals before," said Mr Dhamseh, who lives in the Deheisheh refugee camp in the valley beneath the old city. "They came, they destroyed, they killed and they pulled back. Then they came back. We expect the same again."
Justin Huggler Independent UK 03 July 2003
