Sometimes, Sergeant Doré said, he sees small groups of people dash out of the compound to pick fruit from trees on a terrace below before hurrying back in. "I don't know what they're subsisting on," he said. "I heard that we let in some food," he added, echoing official army statements.

Sergeant Doré's rifle has a range of about 900 yards, and it fires 7.62-millimeter ammunition.

The rules of engagement are clear, he said. When an armed Palestinian is positively identified, the two snipers at the windows can fire on the orders of the post commander. Unarmed men may not be shot, nor people who emerge from the compound with their hands up. But anyone who flees and ignores warnings to stop "will get a bullet, because anyone can run out with an explosive belt, and we're not taking any chances," Sergeant Doré said.

He added that shots fired at fleeing people are aimed only at the legs. "We've been doing this for 10 years. We're all trained reservists with good judgment. We're not trigger-happy."

A short time later, the curfew on Bethlehem was lifted for two hours. The deserted streets came to life as thousands of people cooped up in their homes stepped out for fresh air and went to buy food.

At the downtown market, eggs, vegetables and chickens were offered at makeshift outdoor stands. People packed the streets, quickening their steps when Israeli soldiers near an armored vehicle fired warning shots to keep them away.

The alleys were strewn with piles of smoldering garbage and the carcasses of cars blown up by soldiers or crushed by armored vehicles. Some shopfronts were burned, or bent in, and an unexploded missile was embedded in a wall, its fins poking out. Residents rushed to finish their errands before the curfew was reimposed.

"It's dangerous outside, because we're afraid of shooting by soldiers," Fadia Saleh said as she stood near her family's drugstore. "At home we just sit and watch the television reports, waiting to see what will happen in the Nativity Church."

Oh well, looks like Israel shouldn't be shooting the legs.  They leave the enemy stronghold intact when these fuckers are released, IF they are!