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The hospital is known to many thousands of Christian pilgrims who have visited the Church of the Ascension inside the hospital grounds and enjoyed the sweeping views from the bell tower. The church was built on the Mount of Olives, were Jesus is believed to have ascended to heaven.

The compound, which was first completed about 90 years ago and which has the appearance of a medieval fortress, was intended as a hostel for pilgrims to Jerusalem and as a hospice for patients suffering from malaria.

It consists of massive rectangular buildings sheltered inside high stone walls. The complex was built on the orders of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany after he visited the Holy Land in 1898. He named the institution after his wife.

Copyright © 2000 ENI

Other media coverage of fighting in Jerusalem includes:

Broken Hopes and a Grim Future—Los Angeles Times (Oct. 13, 2000)

List of Key Israel-Palestinian Events—Associated Press (Oct. 13, 2000)

Jews, Arabs Rally Here—Chicago Tribune (Oct. 13, 2000)

Israel hits hard after mob slays 2 soldiers—The Boston Globe (Oct. 13, 2000)

Peace talks unravelled with stunning speed—National Post (Oct. 13, 2000)

Israeli rocket strike on Arafat's compound in response to soldiers' deaths—The Independent (Oct. 13, 2000)

Related Christianity Today coverage includes:

Israelis and Palestinians Pay Tribute to Pope's Pilgrimage to Holy Land (March 29, 2000)

Prepared for Pilgrims? | As Christian tourism surges, Holy Land believers brave troubled future. (Feb. 10, 2000)

Apology Crusaders to Enter Israel (April 15, 1999)

Squeezed by Warring Majorities (November 6, 1998)

How Evangelicals Became Israel's Best Friend (Oct. 5, 1998)

Jerusalem as Jesus Views It (Oct. 5, 1998)

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October (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44