Chaos descends on Nazareth

Two people disguised as Christian pilgrims threw firecrackers into a revered church in Nazareth Friday, sparking a riot in the biblical Israeli town, police said.

Officials said police were dispatching hundreds of forces to the area.

The couple entered the Basilica of the Annunciation and began throwing firecrackers. Hundreds of residents of the Arab-Israeli town quickly took to the streets to protest.

Israeli rescue workers said two people were injured in the rioting, and others were suffering from tear gas inhalation.

[Let me get this straight. Two cretins throw firecrackers into one of the holiest churches to Christians, and protesters, justifiably outraged, get subjected to tear gas???]

The church is at the site where Christians believe the Angel Gabriel appeared before the Virgin Mary and foretold the birth of Jesus.

Now, who would do a thing like this?

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UPDATE:

A distraught Israeli couple, joined by another woman, entered one of Christianity's holiest sites Friday and set off explosions, police said, sparking a large riot in this biblical town in northern Israel.

At least eight people, including five police, were injured in the melee, which appeared to be under control by late Friday.

The assailants, who were not believed to be linked to any Jewish nationalist group, were disguised as Christian pilgrims when they entered the Basilica of the Annunciation, police said.

They remained barricaded inside the building for several hours before police broke through a crowd of several thousand angry protesters and took the three away.

A witness who identified herself only by her first name, Rouan, said the church was crowded with worshippers praying for the coming Easter holiday at the time of the blast, which apparently did not cause any major damage.

Police officials said the Jerusalem couple had been treated for psychiatric problems in the past and authorities had questioned them this week and threatened to place their children in foster care. [apparently, that was NOT enough]

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. No information was available on the woman who was with them. [hmm, that's odd]

Israeli Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said the attack did not appear to have nationalist motivations. He said the husband was Jewish and the wife was Christian. He also said he had been in touch with local Christian leaders to calm the tensions.

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Muslims and Christian Israeli Arabs chant anti-Israeli slogans during a demonstration outside the Basilica of the Annunciation, one of Christianity's holiest sites, in the northern Israel town of Nazareth Saturday March 4, 2006. Hundreds of Israeli Arabs, Christians and Muslims, marched on Saturday to protest the attack Friday on the Basilica, one of Christianity's holiest sites, by an Israeli couple and their daughter. The attack apparently was driven by personal distress and not extremism, police said. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Leave it to Israelis to determine what is and is not extreme.