Peeping Tom Sparks Muslim-Christian Riot in West Bank.

BEIT SAHOUR, West Bank (Reuters) - A Muslim “Peeping Tom” who photographed a Palestinian Christian woman in the changing room of a clothes shop sparked a night of rioting near Bethlehem, witnesses said Wednesday.

At the height of the riot, hundreds of Muslims and Christians fought each other with metal rods and stones in the streets of the West Bank town of Beit Sahour, adjacent to Bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of Jesus.

“It was like a war,” said Nahle, a resident.

The first explosion of violence between Christians and Muslims in the area for years began when a Muslim man sneaked a camera into a changing room and snapped several pictures of a woman dressing, residents said.

The man, from a nearby Muslim town, raced to a taxi with the shop-owner in pursuit. But he was forced to flee to a mosque when dozens of Beit Sahour residents arrived and began smashing the taxi, which they later set on fire. By then, Christians and Muslims involved in the dispute had called in reinforcements, witnesses said.

The Muslims demanded police free the man, who was badly beaten during the melee, residents said. But the suspect was arrested and taken to a local jail.

“Then the clashes really started,” said Nahle. “They were fighting with sticks and stones, and extra police had to come from Ramallah and Bethlehem to stop it,” he said.