Siege of the Church of the Nativity 2002
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 2 April 2002 – 10 May 2002 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2002 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Palestine | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Operation Defensive Shield, Second Intifada | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 31.7047, 35.2078 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
From 2 April to 10 May 2002, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank was besieged by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), targeting suspected Palestinian militants who had taken shelter in the church.
As part of Operation Defensive Shield, the IDF occupied Bethlehem and attempted to capture suspected Palestinian militants. Dozens of them fled into the Church of the Nativity and sought refuge. IDF surrounded the site and besieged the suspected militants and non-militants at the site, which included approximately 200 monks resident in the church and other Palestinians who had arrived at the site for other reasons. The Franciscan Order maintained no hostages were held, while Israeli sources claimed the monks and others were being held hostage by gunmen.
After 39 days, an agreement was reached, according to which the militants turned themselves in to Israel and were exiled to Europe and the Gaza Strip.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of the Church of the Nativity (revision 1370746667), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Assyrian siege of Jerusalem 701 BC · 7 km
- Battle of Jerusalem 1917 · 8 km
- Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC) 597 BC · 8 km
- Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) AD 70 · 9 km
- Siege of Jerusalem (1099) 1099 · 9 km
- First Muslim conquest of Jerusalem 636 · 9 km
Other battles of the Operation Defensive Shield
- Battle of Jenin (2002) 2002
- Battle of Nablus 2002
All 3 battles of the Operation Defensive Shield →
Browse more: battles in Palestine · Asia · Post-1945 battles