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Israeli couple attacks christian shrine Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Associated Press
Update 9: Israeli Couple Attacks Christian Shrine
By AMY TEIBEL , 03.03.2006, 05:36 PM
An Israeli couple, joined by a young woman reported to be their daughter, entered one of Christianity's holiest sites on Friday and set off a series of small explosions, sparking a riot that left six people wounded in this Arab town in northern Israel.
The family's motives were unclear, but police said they had been treated for psychiatric problems in the past and faced the possibility of losing custody of their children.
Although the attack did not appear to be nationalistic, it underscored the tensions between Israel's Jewish majority and its Arab minority. Israeli Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of the population, complain of systematic discrimination.
Police said the three entered the Basilica of the Annunciation Friday evening and set off firecrackers and other small explosives. Church officials said the site was unguarded, and witnesses said the explosives were hidden in a baby stroller.
A witness who identified herself only by her first name, Rouan, said the church was crowded with worshippers praying for the coming Easter holiday.
"We heard a boom. It went on for six or seven minutes," said the 22-year-old woman. She said the blast left black spots on the walls inside, but witnesses said there was no serious damage.
Within minutes, thousands of people began rioting outside, preventing police from entering. The attackers - who were disguised as pilgrims - remained barricaded inside the building for several hours before police broke through the crowd and took them into custody.
By late Friday, the riot had stopped, though hundreds of young men milled about, as small bonfires set inside garbage bins crackled and the acrid smell of tear gas blanketed the air. An Israeli helicopter hovered overhead.
Police officials said the couple involved in the attack had been treated for psychiatric problems in the past. The officials said authorities had questioned the Jerusalem couple this week and threatened to place their children in foster care.
Police said the couple had previously threatened to attack churches, and also spent time in the Palestinian territories, including a visit to the late Yasser Arafat's headquarters. Israeli media reported that the young woman with them was a daughter, though it was not known how many children they have.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Israeli Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said the attack did not appear to have nationalist motivations. He said the husband is Jewish and the wife is Christian.
Archbishop Elias Shakur, the top Roman Catholic official in Nazareth, dismissed the attackers as lone extremists.
"It's a big tragedy for all of us in Israel, for Christians, for having their most holy places spoiled and used in a barbaric way," he said.
The church is at the site where Christians believe the Angel Gabriel appeared before the Virgin Mary and foretold the birth of Jesus.
Nazareth, the boyhood town of Jesus, is inhabited by Christian and Muslim Arabs, and religious tensions have boiled over in the past, with the two sides in a dispute over attempts to build a mosque next to the church.
"We live here two religions together and they tried to make trouble for us," said Jaber Zeid, 20, of Nazareth.
Israel's roughly 1 million Arabs hold Israeli citizenship, in contrast to Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip who live under the Palestinian Authority.
Despite tensions between Jews and Arabs, violence is rare. Last August, a Jewish army deserter killed four Israeli Arabs in a shooting rampage on a bus. The attacker was killed by a mob.
In the worst ethnic violence in Israel, police killed 13 Arab-Israeli demonstrators who blocked a highway in October 2000.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
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