Deportees’ Vigil Protests Talks on Mideast Peace

Nearly 400 Palestinian deportees marched on an Israeli army outpost Monday and settled down on straw rugs for an overnight vigil to protest the resumption of Mideast peace talks.

The talks are set to resume in Washington today--a fact that has divided rival Palestinian factions.

The sit-in came after the exiles walked 1 1/2 miles from their tent camp toward the Zommaraya checkpoint on the northeastern edge of Israel’s self-proclaimed security zone in southern Lebanon. They stopped once briefly for prayers, with Israeli warning shots zinging harmlessly overhead.

Abdulaziz Rantisi, a physician in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip, criticized Arab and Palestinian negotiators for not sticking with a boycott of the talks until Israel allows the deportees to go home.

“We are marching today because we are left with no other option,” Rantisi said. “They have slammed all doors of hope for our speedy return. They have manipulated our plight, and now they have gone to Washington to sign whatever (Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak) Rabin dictates.”

Israel deported the men Dec. 17, claiming they were activists in radical Muslim groups like Hamas that have instigated violence in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The expulsions followed the slayings of six Israeli soldiers and police that month. Israel has since allowed some deportees home.

Under pressure from Arab nations and staking everything on U.S. promises of Israeli concessions at the talks, Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat ordered the Palestinian delegation last week to return to the talks today in Washington.

But Hamas, which advocates eradication of Israel, has strong influence among the 1.8 million Palestinians in the occupied territories. It is grouped with other Palestinian radical groups that oppose negotiations.

In Jordan, Faisal Husseini, head of the Palestinian negotiating team, warned of “tragic consequences” if the Middle East peace process collapsed. Husseini’s remarks were made before the team left Monday for Washington.

If there is no progress in the ninth round of talks, fundamentalists could take even more power from the PLO and end Palestinian participation.