Deal to end Bethlehem church standoff appears close

Associated Press WriterBETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) -- Israel and the Palestinians appeared close to a new deal Wednesday that would remove most of the Palestinians from the Church of the Nativity, but keep 13 militants inside until a country could be found to take them, a Palestinian police officer inside the church said.

Diplomatic sources confirmed the details of the deal, but said it had not been finalized yet.

Israeli officials and Palestinians met Wednesday night to discuss the new deal. Five men, a lawyer, two Franciscan priests and two Greek Orthodox monks, emerged from the church to attend the meeting.

Israel and the Palestinians had announced Tuesday they had reached a deal to end the 37-day standoff at the Christian shrine by deporting the 13 militants to Italy. However, Italy said it had not been consulted and balked at accepting them.

Under the new deal, 26 Palestinian militants would be sent to Gaza as previously agreed and most of the rest of the 123 Palestinians holed up in the church would be freed. The transfer to Gaza would take place under U.S. aegis. the diplomatic sources said.

The 13 militants would remain in the church until a country could be found to take them, the Palestinian police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Despite a Palestinian suicide attack near Tel Aviv on Tuesday night that killed 15 bystanders, both sides remained committed to finding a solution to the standoff, Joel Lion, spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, said Wednesday afternoon.

The dispute had appeared resolved Tuesday.

However, the low-slung door to the stone church remained closed as Italy said it had been kept in the dark during most of the negotiations. Italian officials said it was unlikely they would agree to accept the Palestinians.

"I am opposed to it," the Italian daily La Stampa quoted Deputy Premier Gianfranco Fini as saying. "If we took in the 13 Palestinians we would be exposing our country to a series of grave risks."

"My opinion? They'll never arrive in Italy," he said.

One of the top wanted men inside the church, Abdullah Daoud, said he and the 12 others had reluctantly agreed to exile in Italy and were annoyed by the delay.

"We are in very, very bad situation in the church, and we welcome any kind of solution except one -- to be handed over to the Israelis," he said.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat approved the deal, Palestinians said, but the decision to send the militants into exile is an extremely sensitive one and many Palestinians oppose it.

A leader of Arafat's Fatah movement in the West Bank, Hussein al-Sheik, said approving exile set a dangerous precedent.

Also, the leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, called one of his followers inside the church, Aziz Abayat, and pressured him not to accept the deal. "Sheik Yassin told us that ... anyone who accepts exile does not represent the movement's position," Abayat said.

Raising another possible hitch, an Israeli group appealed to the Supreme Court to block the deportations, claiming that a law-abiding nation could not set wanted militants free.

The standoff in Bethlehem began April 2, when more than 200 people fleeing advancing Israeli forces ran into the Church of the Nativity. About 75 have emerged from the church since then.

Those remaining inside include the 39 gunmen, as well as civilians, clerics, policemen and 10 foreign demonstrators who slipped past the Israelis into the church last week in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.

According to a Palestinian list of names obtained by The Associated Press, those slated for exile include nine members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a militia linked to Arafat's Fatah movement, as well as three Hamas members and Daoud, who had served as the Bethlehem intelligence chief.

Daoud denied Israel's allegations that he organized attacks on Israelis, produced explosives, smuggled weapons, and provided shelter to members of terror groups. Daoud, who holds a bachelor's degree in political science from a West Bank university, said he hoped to continue his education in Italy.

Several of those on the list are accused by Israel of involvement in bombing and shooting attacks, including Ibrahim Moussa Abayat, accused by Israel of killing two Israelis and an American, Avi Boaz.