Haaretz
Adar 4, 5766
A Jewish man accompanied by his Christian wife
and their relative detonated firecrackers inside the Basilica of the
Annunciation in the northern Israeli Arab city of Nazareth on Friday
evening, triggering riots that resulted in the injury of 13 police
officers and 13 local residents.
Around midnight, a tense calm
prevailed in the city.
Police said the man had a history of mental
illness. The assailants were not believed to be linked to any
ultra-nationalist Jewish group.
Towards evening, the three
assailants hid firecrackers and small gas canisters in a baby stroller and
detonated the firecrackers inside the church during a special prayer for
the opening of Lent.
The Jewish man and the two women entered the
basilica compound disguised as Christian pilgrims. The male suspect was
identified as 44-year-old Jerusalem resident Haim Eliyahu Havivi. Police
had questioned him in the past after he threatened to attack churches in
Israel. The two female suspects are Havivi's wife, who is Christian, and
their young relative.
Jerusalem welfare services are also familiar
with the couple, after their children were taken away from them.
Large police forces, including special riot-control units, were
dispatched to the scene to repel thousands of people who gathered in an
attempt to enter the compound and attack the suspects. Police used stun
grenades to disperse the crowd. After being held up for more than three
hours inside the church, police finally managed to extract the three.
According to one report, the man was taken out disguised as a
policeman.
Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said the attack did
not appear to have nationalist motivations and that he had been in touch
with local Christian leaders to calm the tensions. "It is very important
to put out this small flame so that won't become a huge fire," he told
Channel 10 TV.
A witness who identified herself only by her first
name, Rouan, said the church was crowded with worshippers praying for the
coming Easter holiday at the time of the attack. "We heard a boom. It went
on for six or seven minutes," she said. "I thought we were going to die."
She said the blast left black spots on the walls inside, but did not
appear to cause any major damage.
Nazareth Mayor Ramez Juraisi and
Deputy Mayor Ali Salaam also attempted to persuade the crowds to
disperse.
Ezra said police efforts to extricate the three
assailants were initially prevented by the large crowd. A Magen David Adom
ambulance crew was also unable to leave the church due to the angry
mob.
At one point, the crowd attacked an ambulance, smashing the
vehicle's windows.
By 8:45 P.M., Police Major General Dan Ronen,
commander of the northern district, said that the situation around the
church had been brought under control. In the wake of the incident, police
commissioner Moshe Karadi ordered security beefed up at holy sites around
Israel.
By 9:10 P.M. officers had managed to extricate the three
suspects and the paramedics from the church. Despite Ronen's announcement
that the situation was under control, Nazareth residents set a police
vehicle on fire around 9:15 P.M.
Wadiya Abu Nasser, Advisor to the
Latin Archbishop, told Haaretz that a full report of the incident
had been passed on to the Vatican and directly to the pope's office. Abu
Nasser reported Vatican sources describing the incident as very
serious.
Khalil Hadad, a journalist situated in the church, told
Haaretz the structure was lightly damaged when a stampede broke out and
worshippers attempted to flee after the firecrackers went off.
Channel 10 TV News reported the Shin Bet domestic security service
said Havivi is known to have a history of mental illness. Havivi had
attempted to attack churches in the past, notably the Church of the
Nativity in Bethlehem and Jerusalem's Church of the Holy
Sepulcher.
Havivi had even made his way to the Ramallah
headquarters of former Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat
several years ago, claiming that Israeli authorities were attempting to
confiscate his daughter. At the time, Havivi told Arafat he wanted to
remain in PA-controlled territory.
Israeli Arab MKs responded angrily to the attack and
complained that Havivi had not been arrested after his past threats to
attack churches.
The basilica is built at the site of the
Annunciation, where according to Christian faith the Virgin Mary was told
by archangel Gabriel she had been chosen by God to bear His son,
Jesus.
Nazareth, the boyhood town of Jesus, is located in northern
Israel. It 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.