DATE=5/04/2002

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT'S REPORT

NUMBER=2-289433

TITLE=ISRAEL BETHLEHEM [L]

BYLINE=IRRIS MAKLER

DATELINE=BETHLEHEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Palestinian sources say that a breakthrough may

be near in the stand-off at the Church of the Nativity

in Bethlehem, where nearly 200 people have been under

siege for the past month. Irris Makler reports from

Bethlehem.

TEXT: The mayor of Bethlehem Hana Nasser says that he

expects the month-long siege will be resolved soon. He

says that negotiations have resumed, with new teams,

including top aides to the Palestinian Chairman

Yasser Arafat and American diplomats. Israeli

negotiators say they are also optimistic that a

solution is near.

It is understood that the lifting of the siege in

Ramallah earlier this week, which saw Yasar Arafat

freed from his compound, may be a model for resolving

this stand-off. However even as negotiations continue,

there was an explosion in the Church compound. The

Israeli army says it found a makeshift bomb factory in

a temporary hospital near Manger Square, with bags of

fertiliser and chemical bottles as well as nails --

often used as shrapnel by bomb-makers. The Army says

it let off a controlled explosion there to prevent any

further damage.

Israeli tanks and troops surround the Church, which

Christians believe is the site where Jesus was born. Israel says it is seeking around 30 Palestinian militants who took

refuge in the Church to avoid capture. The rest of

those under siege are civilians, including monks and

nuns.

More than 85 people have left the Church over the past

month, and several Palestinian fighters have been

killed, including at least one shot walking out in the

compound Saturday. Palestinian spokesmen say the man

was a member of the Force 17 presidential guard.

Israeli military sources say he was a wanted militant,

responsible for attacks on Israeli civilians.

Signed NEB/MB/PT