BETHLEHEM, West Bank — A Palestinian inside the Church of the Nativity was shot and two more surrendered to Israeli soldiers Wednesday before Israelis and Palestinians renewed negotiations on the three-week standoff at the church.
The Palestinian, who the Israeli army said was armed, was shot and seriously wounded by an Israeli sniper while standing at a window inside the church, the army and Palestinian witnesses said. The man was evacuated to a Jerusalem hospital.
A few hours later, two Palestinians surrendered, walking out of the church with their hands up and turning themselves over to Israeli soldiers. The two men were wearing civilian clothes but were members of the police force, according to a Palestinian journalist who recognized them. The two men said they were ill.
Shooting also erupted Wednesday afternoon as the Israeli and Palestinian delegations were arriving to start a second day of negotiations in a building next to the church, a fourth-century shrine built on the traditional site of Jesus' birth.
The source of the fire was not immediately clear, but it sent journalists diving for cover on the edge of Manger Square, a short distance from the church. The shooting lasted about three minutes, and there were no reports of injuries.
About 200 armed Palestinians — with several dozen others — have been holed up inside the church since April 2, when they entered to escape advancing Israeli troops.
In the talks, Palestinians have proposed that the gunmen be escorted to the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip. Israel has been insisting that they must surrender and either be put on trial in Israel or deported. Though no agreement was reached, both sides reported progress, and further talks were planned Wednesday afternoon.
The standoff has stirred passions around the world. The church is one of Christianity's holiest sites, and international anger has been aimed at both sides — at Israel for besieging the holy site with tanks and troops, and at the Palestinians for storming into the church with their weapons.
Israeli official Gadi Golan said that Israel hadn't formally rejected the Gaza proposal, but only because negotiations were still in progress.
"Our position is that they must be expelled. Too many times, terrorists have been put in jail (by the Palestinians) and have come out again on the streets," Golan said.
Father David Jaeger, a spokesman for the Franciscans, who have priests inside the church, said they were not party to the dispute and "would be satisfied with any conclusion that is peaceful."
"The solution is not difficult, it's just a matter of saying 'yes' to a reasonable, peaceful compromise," he said. "We are between extreme disappointment and indefatigable hope."
About 30 clerics from several denominations are in the church with the gunmen.
Three Armenian priests left the church compound Tuesday after one of them displayed a sign with the words, "Please Help," written in red paint.
The Israeli military released a video interview with one of the priests, identified as Narcis Kanrasian, saying that Palestinians had entered the Armenian monastery. "They opened the doors one by one and stole everything," including prayer books and crucifixes, he said.