"This is an act of indescribable barbarity. It is a violation of every law of humanity and civilization," said Father David Jaeger, spokesman for custodians of Catholic sites in the Holy Land, who is currently in Rome.
Witnesses said a Palestinian policeman had been shot dead at the compound of the church built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born. A fire started in the compound but was quickly put out. Its cause could not be independently verified.
Sources in Jenin refugee camp said Israeli forces had fired about 20 missiles overnight. Fighting continued in Nablus, the largest Palestinian-ruled city in the West Bank.
Palestinians said soldiers raided the Palestinian-ruled village of Ashawera, east of Bethlehem, but withdrew from the village of Yatta near the West Bank city of Hebron, leaving a trail of destruction.
Sharon told the Knesset, or parliament, that the military would withdraw to buffer zones between Israel and the West Bank when the offensive eventually ends. He gave no details.
"Arafat has established a regime of terror in the territories under his control," Sharon said in an address interrupted repeatedly by Arab-Israeli legislators who were then shouted down by other members of the assembly.
"The gangs of murderers have a leader ... and the aim is to force us out of here," he said. "The one who sends them is the head of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat."
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