Associated Press A Palestinian man walks out of Bethlehemâs Church of the Nativity yesterday, leaving the church for the first time in close to a month. On the left is Ibrahim Faltas, the chief priest of the Church of the Nativity. Twenty-six Palestinians emerged from the church yesterday, the largest number to leave since the standoff with the Israeli army began on April 2.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank ÷ Twenty-six Palestinians emerged one-by-one and in Israelâs gunsights Tuesday from the Church of the Nativity, the largest group to leave one of Christianityâs holiest shrines since the month-long standoff began.

Israel, meanwhile, defied the United Nations and blocked an inquiry into fighting at the Jenin refugee camp where Palestinians claim Israeli soldiers conducted a massacre of civilians in eight days of house-to-house fighting.

U.N. diplomats said Secretary-General Kofi Annan was leaning toward disbanding the mission. Annan said he had done everything possible to meet Israeli demands to modify the mission.

In the West Bank town of Jericho, U.S. and British security experts toured the local prison Tuesday in another step in a U.S.-backed deal designed to release Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from months of Israeli confinement.

Six Palestinians who are wanted by Israel and are holed up in Arafatâs besieged headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah would be moved to the Jericho prison under U.S. and British supervision, paving the way for Arafat to leave his compound. Palestinian officials said the prisoner transfer could take place within 24 hours, but Israel said there was no agreed upon timetable.

Also Tuesday, Israeli armor rumbled out of the West Bank town of Hebron after a two-day incursion launched in response to a deadly shooting attack on a Jewish settlement. The military said 250 Palestinians were arrested, including 40 wanted men. Nine Palestinians were killed during the raid, including six civilians.

In Bethlehem, the Palestinians left the Church of the Nativity, built over the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born, through a low-slung opening known as the Door of Humility. The group was made up of civilians and Palestinian police, none wanted by Israel. One was carried on a stretcher.

The Rev. Ibrahim Faltas, a Franciscan priest, escorted the men, most in their teens and 20s, into Manger Square. With some soldiers on the square crouching and pointing their weapons at the Palestinians, the men held open their jackets to show they were not armed. The Palestinians moved toward an armored bus, where another soldier checked their names off a list of those believed to have been in the church and offered them oranges.