A girl overcome by teargas is carried to an ambulance

Teargas Hits Bethlehem Schoolgirls

Some of the teargas canisters landed in a courtyard at a school and got among the girls, aged between 7 and 15, who had just assembled for class.

After the girls were taken away the confrontation resumed, the rioters setting fires and throwing stones and a new weapon - small blast bombs.

The Israeli tactic is to keep the demonstrators at a distance by using teargas and rubber bullets, which they did successfully until the trouble petered out after several hours.

Israeli troops easily contained the disturbances

Hospitals reported that four or five youths were injured, though not seriously.

The cause of the unrest is that the Israelis have kept Bethlehem cut off for longer than other West Bank towns because a bomb factory was found nearby and they have been looking for suspects.

In spite of the continuing trouble, the Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, said on Tuesday that security ties with Israel had improved to an extent that would enable a visit by the American Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright.

Pilgrims trying to argue their way past an Israeli checkpoint

The closure of Bethlehem began after the suicide bombs in Jerusalem more than three weeks ago and anger is growing - not only among those who live there.

Christian pilgrims attempting to visit the Church of the Nativity have been held up at checkpoints at the entrance to the town, traditionally the birthplace of Jesus.

Some of the visitors, with more enterprising coach drivers, were taken by back routes and have managed to argue their way in past the Israeli guards.