Bethlehem (AsiaNews/Agency) After years of peaceful coexistence, inter-communal violence between Christians and Muslims exploded in Beit Sahur, near Bethlehem. The spark for the night of clashes, fortunately without any serious consequences, was ostensibly the offended honour of a Christian woman who was photographed by a Muslim Peeping Tom.
The incident triggering off the brawl took place late in the afternoon. According to some witnesses, a young Muslim man using a cellphone with camera took picture of a Christian woman in a clothing store. It is not clear, as some maintain, whether the photographed woman was just looking at clothes or actually trying them on in one of the store's changing rooms.
The woman accused the young man of taking her picture without her consent. The store owner tried to stop the man who in turn tried to run away in a taxi cab. His flight was short-lived for he was eventually stopped by the woman's brothers who had rushed to the scene. The taxi was smashed and the young man beaten.
Having fled to a nearby mosque, the would-be "photographer" called in brothers and friends. In the open area in front of the mosque hundreds of people gathered, Christians on one side, Muslims on the other, first facing each other, then clashing with sticks and metal rods. The giant brawl was eventually quelled by the police. Some people were slightly hurt, but no one was seriously injured.
