Conditions deteriorate under Bethlehem siege; food, water dwindling at church; city under curfew. (World).

Conditions inside the besieged Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem are growing increasingly desperate, sources inside and outside the church report. Going into its third week, the standoff between the Israeli Defense Force and the 250 Palestinians holed up inside the church along with 45 monks, nuns and priests seemed at press time little closer to resolution than when it began in early April.

The crisis is taking a toll on both those inside the church and without. Bethlehem residents living near Manger Square, where the church is located, continue to live under curfew.…