The Church of the Nativity, believed to mark the birthplace of Jesus, has withstood nearly sixteen centuries of warfare and bloodshed – until now. For the first time in its long history, the Church was seized by armed gunmen and used as a refuge against an invading military force. When the siege was finally lifted, the gunmen left behind not only an unholy mess, but explosive devices and booby traps primed for use.

The media's coverage of the 39-day siege of the Church has largely glossed over the character of the occupying force. They were depicted as Palestinian "gunmen," with few references in the mainstream media to their acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians. One "gunman" is accused of murdering an American citizen. All were members either of the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade or Hamas, the Islamic militant group, both of which have sent suicide bombers into Israel. All of them were exiled - either to Europe or to Gaza - where they will soon be free to resume their terrorism against Israel.

In addition to the 39 terrorists, there were also about one hundred others held in the Church, including a number of priests and nuns. The media are fuzzy as to whether these others were hostages or not. Most articles concluded that they were not held against their will, but Newsweek reported that when some tried to leave, they were threatened with being branded "a traitor and a lowlife." With that, they didn't need to be reminded of their shortened life expectancy if they did leave.

The media also vividly depicted the suffering of those inside the Church. They were said to be starving; some accounts had them collecting edible grasses and lemon leaves, or eating lettuce stained with the blood of a wounded man. Curiously, however, one Washington Post account cited dozens of bags of food and other indications that perhaps conditions weren't as bad as depicted in most of the media. Other sources indicate that the Palestinian terrorists finished off six months of food supplies in short order.

Then there is the question of the booby traps left behind by the terrorists. The first report of explosive devices left behind appeared in an on-line Australian news service, which said that the Greek Orthodox Patriach has asked Israeli troops to search the Church buildings. The searches, done by American agents as well, turned up about forty explosive devices, including hand grenades. But the mainstream media accepted Palestinian denials of booby-traps or allegations that the Israeli Army had planted them.

Newsweek, for example, reported a load explosion in a Greek Orthodox convent and quoted a priest saying that a door had been booby-trapped. It claimed that, "it was unclear whether the Palestinians or the Israeli Army had planted the bomb." Other stories disputed the existence of booby-traps by citing worshipers streaming into the Church after the siege was lifted, as if bomb disposal experts had no time to clear out mementoes of Palestinian terrorism. No wonder Jewish groups across the country were organizing boycotts of the major dailies in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles.