2 Sides Forge Plan to End Church Siege

Israelis and Palestinians agreed Sunday on the broad outlines of a deal to end the monthlong siege of the Church of the Nativity by exiling a number of Palestinians accused of terrorism.

Negotiators appeared on the verge of signing the accord early today.

The breakthrough came only a few days after the U.S., the European Union and the Vatican stepped up pressure to end the standoff between armed Palestinians and Israeli forces at one of Christianity’s holiest sites.

Six to 15 Palestinians inside the church who are on Israel’s most wanted list would be sent to Italy as “temporary visitors,” according to one Palestinian official. An additional 35 to 40 men would be sent to the Gaza Strip. The rest of the 123 men inside would go free.

Israelis and Palestinians said the exact numbers of men involved were the last obstacle to signing the deal, which they hoped to finalize today. But both sides said the basic structure of the deal had already been agreed to. The actual transfer of the men is to begin soon after the accord is signed.

“Progress has been made, but there’s no deal yet. They’re still talking,” a top Israeli security official said.

Palestinians in the church said early today that they had been told by their leaders that their 35-day ordeal would end within hours.

“We hope most of us will walk home. I hope this will be resolved this morning,” said Mohammed Madani, the Bethlehem region’s Palestinian governor, who has been in the church almost from the beginning of the crisis.

Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers were rumbling through this ancient city’s winding streets before dawn today, apparently in preparation for the evacuation and transfer of men. Soldiers began erecting a barricade between a swarm of reporters and the entrance to the 4th century basilica. Israel Radio reported that the army had arrested 13 Palestinians in Bethlehem, including a senior Hamas activist.

The standoff at the church is the last unresolved crisis remaining from Israel’s massive assault on the West Bank. In the last month, Israeli troops invaded nearly every Palestinian city there in their search for “terrorist cells,” waging fierce door-to-door combat in many places.

An end to the Bethlehem siege would clear the way for a new stage in Palestinian-Israeli relations, which have been severely damaged by the assault. Focus would then shift to a proposed peace conference this summer.

Troops entered Bethlehem in force April 2, prompting Palestinian gunmen, militants and civilians to seek refuge in the church, which Christians believe marks the birthplace of Jesus.

Monks, Nuns, Priests

and Armed Men Inside

An estimated 200 Palestinians, many of them armed, wound up in the compound, whose thick, fortress-like walls have withstood centuries of warfare. Three Christian faiths share responsibility for the compound, which includes monasteries, chapels and a hostel.

The Palestinians were joined by about 80 monks, nuns and priests, who found themselves in the difficult position of providing sanctuary to armed men in the middle of some of the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian fighting in decades.

Israeli tanks quickly took up positions in adjoining Manger Square. Snipers filled the surrounding buildings.

The Israelis justified the military presence by saying that at least 10 of the men inside were wanted terrorists, including members of militant groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an offshoot of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has been responsible for the majority of suicide bombings and attacks on Israeli citizens since the current uprising began in September 2000.

In an attempt to force the men out, the Israelis limited the supply of food and water to the church compound and played loud music to deprive the men of sleep.

Snipers killed at least seven of the Palestinians and wounded others.

As the weeks dragged on, negotiations seemed to go nowhere. Small groups of men and boys exited the church, weak from hunger. On Thursday, 10 activists ran into the church with food, accompanied by Los Angeles Times photographer Carolyn Cole.

Sketchy Details About

Men on Wanted List

By Sunday, there were 123 Palestinians left inside, along with about 30 Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox clerics. Cole could not be contacted today, but she and the activists remained in the church.

Details about the fate of the men wanted by Israel remained sketchy.

The Israelis have long insisted that the men go into exile or face justice in Israel. The Palestinians want the men to go on trial in Palestinian territory. They have suggested that the U.S. or another third party monitor proceedings to calm Israeli fears of a show trial.

Sunday night, a senior Palestinian official was reportedly headed for Italy to finalize details about the exile of the six most wanted men. Three of the men were identified by Israeli media as Ibrahim Abeiyat, Abdallah Daud Kader and Rafat Jaara.

Abeiyat is head of the local Al Aqsa brigade, one of the leaders of a large and violent family whose members have been linked by Israel to several attacks. Daud is the local head of Palestinian military intelligence. Jaara has been accused by the Israelis of helping carry out terrorist attacks.

Daud, reached inside the church today, refused to confirm that he was going to Italy. But he said at least six men were headed there. It was unclear why Italy was selected as an exile destination for the men, or whether they might face judicial proceedings there.

It was also unclear whether the men going to Gaza would face trial under the Palestinian justice system.

The pressure to end the standoff grew when the Bush administration became alarmed after a gunfight and two serious fires broke out Wednesday night at the church, diplomats said. Pope John Paul II also sent a special envoy last week.

“There have been a lot of phone calls along the way, but they became especially urgent [Thursday],” a Western diplomat said. The fires and shootings “opened people’s eyes on the other side of the ocean.”

The U.S. and European Union stepped up their involvement Sunday, as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon headed to Washington to meet with President Bush and top administration figures.

Western diplomats helped broker an exchange of information on the identities of the 123 men holed up in the church, allowing Israel to determine who should be freed and who should face punitive action.

Both Sides Motivated

to End the Standoff

Many analysts speculated that Sharon wanted a deal to be reached before he meets with Bush on Tuesday.

Resolving the standoff was a major goal for Arafat, too. Only a short while after being released from his own monthlong siege, Arafat angrily proclaimed that resolving the situation at the church was one of his top priorities.

Israeli media reported that the first indication of a breakthrough came late Sunday, when Arafat called Madani, the governor, in the church to tell him to begin preparing for an orderly and peaceful evacuation. The Vatican and the European Union apparently framed the deal to have the men exiled to Italy.

There were fears that some of the Palestinians might resist deportation, preferring instead a bloody death in the church to turn it into a symbol of the Palestinian cause. But those inside said such worries were baseless.

“There will be no problems in implementing what will be decided” in the negotiations, said Daud, whom the Israelis accuse of involvement in numerous terrorist attacks. “All will compromise, and all will accept and abide.”

Palestinians in the church said they did not want to leave if Israeli tanks and troops were standing guard outside. Palestinian police officials were reportedly taking up positions around Manger Square to maintain order.

Priests were reported to be planning a tour of the church today. Cole and others who have been in the church say mosaics dating to the time of the Crusaders have been damaged by gunfire, windows shattered and stone columns pockmarked with bullet holes.