O little town of Bethlehem. (News: signs of the times).

A town that many American tourists have visited and nearly all Christians have sung about turned into a battlefield during the latest round of violence in the Middle East. Israeli tanks rolled into Manger Square and gunfire erupted over the basilica after more than 200 Palestinians fled into the Church of the Nativity to escape the invasion of Bethlehem. There were reports of nuns and priests tending to the wounded and of corpses being stored not far from the silver star marking the site where Jesus is believed to have been born.

These graphic images focused attention on the priests and religious living in the Holy Land as well as the larger Christian community in Israel and the occupied territories. Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and Gaza have been "basically under house arrest," isolated in their homes without food, water, or electricity, according to Michael LaCivita, communications director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a papal agency that provides humanitarian and pastoral support in the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe.

But even before the most recent retaliation for several suicide bombings, Palestinian Christians were facing extreme hardships, including loss of businesses, jobs, and savings. In the face of escalating violence, many made the hard decision to leave. "Entire families, extended families, are just pulling up and leaving," LaCivita says.

Priests and nuns, however, have no plans to leave, and other Christian leaders in the Holy Land have vowed to remain, even though some of their religious institutions have been occupied by Israeli troops and damaged. Pope John Paul II expressed his solidarity with the Fransciscan friars in Bethlehem during a phone call in which he reportedly urged, "Courage! Continue the resistance and custody of the holy places."

Still, many worry that the already small Christian community will shrink to the point of disappearance. Christians make up about 2 percent of the population in Israel, slightly more in the West Bank and Gaza--down from 12 percent overall in 1967. "I don't think you're going to see active, vibrant Catholic parishes or schools anymore," LaCivita says. "They're basically going to be museums for tourists to see."

Jesuit Father Drew Christiansen, an advisor to the U.S. bishops on the Middle East, says the church hopes Christians in the Holy Land will stay but understands the pressure to emigrate. "Both sides have taken advantage of them," says Christiansen. "The best thing for Christians--for everybody--is peace."