Bethlehem, West Bank ? Israel pulled its troops and armor out of Bethlehem Friday, ending the 39-day siege of the Church of the Nativity after 13 Palestinian militants were flown into exile. The church reeked of urine, and food crumbs were strewn across an altar, yet it emerged with little permanent damage.

Thirteen militiamen who had been holed up inside were flown into European exile, and 26 were released into the Gaza Strip where they were given a raucous welcome. Seventy-three Palestinian policemen and civilians were set free.

A Palestinian resident of Bethlehem looks over the wrinkled sleeping mats and food remains where those inside the Church of the Nativity had been living. Palestinians and others examined the church Friday after a pullout by the Israeli army and the end of the five-week siege.

The end of the siege at the traditional site of Jesus’ birthplace paved the way for an Israeli troop pullback Friday evening from Bethlehem, effectively ending the military offensive Israel launched March 29 against Palestinian militias in the West Bank.

But Israeli forces were massed on the border with the Gaza Strip, apparently preparing for a military strike in retaliation for a Hamas suicide bombing this week that killed 15 Israelis. The leadership of the Islamic militant group is based in Gaza.

President Bush said the end of the Bethlehem siege was a welcome sign and “should advance the prospects for resuming a political peace process.”

The day’s events in Bethlehem began shortly before 7 a.m., when the first of the gunmen walked through the low-slung Gate of Humility, the main door of the 4th-century basilica. The others followed, emerging into the hazy sunlight of Manger Square. Some waved or flashed victory signs, and one dropped to the ground, kneeling in Muslim prayer. Two men were carried out on stretchers.

By midmorning, all Palestinians had left the church, but the standoff was not over. Ten foreigners, who had slipped into the church May 2 in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians, refused to come out demanding a lawyer and insisting on holding a news conference.

Israeli riot police later entered the compound and removed them by force, with the approval of exasperated priests. The 10, including four Americans, were detained ahead of deportation.

Journalists touring the basilica, one of Christianity’s holiest shrines, saw two wooden altars in the Armenian section and a marble baptismal covered with leftover food and dirty dishes.

The stone floor was strewn with dirty blankets and mattresses, lighters, sunglasses, a toothpaste tube, a bottle of aftershave, plastic bags, cigarette butts, a comb and large cooking pots. A stove and gas canisters for cooking stood to one side of the central aisle.

The panes of several arched windows near the ceiling were broken, but there appeared to be no other damage.