Eight Palestinian teenagers walked out of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity today with two monks and carrying the bodies of two dead Palestinians on stretchers.
It was the largest group to leave the church in the three week standoff.
They set the bodies, which had been deteriorating in the church for well over a week, in the centre of Manger Square. A Palestinian ambulance collected the bodies.
Israeli authorities immediately detained the eight teenagers who left the church, according to a Palestinian official involved in co-ordinating with Israel's military.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators agreed last night to allow 10 to 15 youths, including two 10-year-olds, to leave the church compound.
Those leaving the church held white masks over their noses and mouths, apparently to keep out the fumes from smoke bombs Israeli soldiers threw in front of journalists, blocking their view.
Before the release, Israeli army spokesman Brig Gen Ron Kitrey said: "There is very cautious optimism that the affair is closer to an end today than it was yesterday".
AP