Armenian Monk shot and seriously wounded in Bethlehem by Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Correspondent 4:05pm Wed Apr 10 '02 A distinction has to be drawn between anti-Israel demonstrations, and acts of violence against Jews. Not all criticism leveled against the government of Israel is wanton anti-Semitism. Just as Jews in the Diaspora have the right to support Israel, so too do Muslim citizens have the right to support Palestinians. print article Last update - 15:25 10/04/2002 Monk shot and seriously wounded in Bethlehem By Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Correspondent, Ha'aretz Service and Agencies A monk was shot and seriously wounded in the Church of the Nativity compound in Bethlehem, most likely by Israeli fire. He was evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. A senior IDF source confirmed that an Armenian monk in the compound, where dozens of Palestinian gunmen have been holed up with a group of monks since last week, had most likely been hit by IDF fire. He was identified as Armin Sinanian, 22, and was undergoing surgery at Hadassah. Military sources say that according to an initial investigation conducted by the army, it appears that the monk was mistakenly shot by an Israeli sniper. The monk was one of four clergymen who wanted to take water into the Church of the Nativity, and it appears he was shot when the sniper tried to hit an armed man standing next to them, but hit the monk instead. According to reports on the ground, the monk was shot by Israeli troops positioned in the guest wing of the Franciscan monastery. IDF sources insist that the wing is not part of the monastery but is actually located in a nearby hotel, but the Franciscans have disputed this, saying that the wing is part of the Nativity Church compound. Lieberman: use gas to force Palestinians out of Nativity Church Far-right National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu party chief Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday that Israeli forces should employ gas to force Palestinian militants out of the Church of the Nativity. Lieberman told Army Radio that instead of endangering IDF infantrymen, Israel should order aerial bombings of militants in refugee camps. He said that the United States and NATO had often taken this course in the past, adding that "In southern Afghanistan, there were days that the United States wiped out 400 people a day in aerial bombings." The former cabinet minister quit the government last month in protest over perceived policy concessions by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon over Yasser Arafat and his Palestinian Authority. Repeating a demand that the IDF go after Arafat physically in the Ramallah compound to which the PA leader has been confned, Lieberman said he would tell the cabinet, were he still a member: "I demand erasing the mukata (Arafat's compound) from the face of the earth, with everyone inside. I demand going into every single hole, carry out a total mobilization, and clean out the area, but with a thorough-going cleaning - not an effort here and an effort there, not a limited operation, but an full-out war. How long do we have to talk about these bandits, these criminals, these terrorists?" Asked if he also advocated destroying the Church of the Nativity, by tradition the site of the birth of Jesus and one of the holiest sites in Christianity, Lieberman said "We don't need to. We have enough (other) means. "We can put gas in there and take them out - they'll simply come out," Lieberman said. "We have enough techinical means. We need neither harm the church nor obliterate it. It all depends on the political echelon. It must make a decision and give the order to get them out of there." www.haaretz.co.il add your comments