Ben Wedeman: Battle-scarred in Bethlehem

CNN's Ben Wedeman

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNN) -- Regarded by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, Bethlehem has become a battleground in Israel Defense Forces operations in the West Bank, with scores of Palestinians occupying a historic church in the town.

"Bethlehem is the place where we are encountering our heaviest battles," Col. Miri Eisine of the Israeli military said in a written statement Tuesday. "We in the IDF understand the symbolism of Bethlehem to the people of the world. That is why the chief of staff has given a direct order to the forces fighting in Bethlehem to hold fire on religious structures."

CNN Correspondent Ben Wedeman is one of the few Western journalists in the area and filed the following report:

WEDEMAN: I'm on the main road in Bethlehem, and there's nobody on the street. This is a ghost town. It's under a 24-hour curfew imposed by the Israeli army.

Earlier we did hear some shooting from the area of Manger Square, but it's quiet now in the adjacent village of Beit Jala, which was under an Israeli curfew. That curfew has been lifted for several hours to allow people to go out and resupply.

However, there aren't that many supplies to be had. We went to one bakery where we're told they were selling 3-day-old bread.

Elsewhere in town -- we're told -- in the old part of the city, the situation is extremely desperate. Hospital sources are telling us that there are dead people in the streets. There are others who are wounded, but because of the fighting their ambulances are not able to get to the wounded or take away the dead.

Earlier [Wednesday] on the northern edge of the city, a delegation of Christian leaders -- representatives of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Coptic Church -- tried to enter Bethlehem, but they were stopped from going in by Israeli forces -- the Israelis saying that the situation was too dangerous, a closed military area.

The delegation had gone there to try to defuse the situation at Manger Square at the Church of the Nativity, where ... people are holed up in that church. Some of them are Palestinian gunmen. Some may be on Israel's "wanted" list.

But the Israelis said there was no way they would let the Christian leaders intercede and defuse the situation there.