London

Anti-war Christians in Bethlehem opposed to the invasion of Iraq said recently that U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair would be barred if they tried to visit the birthplace of Christ.

Ekklesia, described as a Christian think tank, reported the decision.

Attallah Hanna, a Greek Orthodox priest known for his stand on church rights and the needs of the oppressed, said in an interview on IslamOnline.net that the president and the prime minister were "excommunicated" over their failure to listen to the churches before the war began. The announcement means that the two leaders could not visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.