Italy threw a spanner in the works today just as Israel and the Palestinians agreed to terms for ending the 36 day siege of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.

Nine Palestinians were killed today as Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships pummelled the West Bank city of Hebron.

Israeli forces were still surrounding Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity and Yasser Arafat’s office in Ramallah today despite Prime Minister Ariel Sharon saying the West Bank military assault was virtually over.

Israeli and Palestinian officials were today meeting in a bid to end a standoff at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity where 200 gunmen are besieged by Israeli forces, the town’s mayor said.

Israeli troops surrounding Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity exchanged fire today with armed Palestinians holed up in one of Christianity’s holiest shrines, and smoke was seen rising from the compound.

Israeli troops took control of the largest city in the West Bank today as hundreds of Palestinian gunmen barricaded in a nearby refugee camp put up fierce resistance.

Armed Palestinians besieged by Israeli forces in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity were today running out of food but refusing to surrender.

Scores of Palestinian gunmen were today under siege inside Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity hiding from Israeli troops, helicopters and tanks that invaded the city in an offensive aimed at crushing Palestinian militias in the West Bank.