The European Union's current president Spain has brokered a deal in which six European Union member states will take 12 of the 13 exiled Palestinians freed from the Church of the Nativity, Spanish state radio said early Sunday.
The 13 men, currently in Cyprus, were trapped inside the Bethlehem church during a five-week standoff in which they took shelter in the Church and were surrounded by Israeli troops.
Spain and Italy will each take three of the Palestinians, Greece and Ireland will take two each, Portugal and Finland one each, and one will remain in Cyprus, state radio said, citing Spanish diplomatic sources.
The first five of those European states previously said they would take at least one Palestinian each. Finland apparently emerged late in the process.
According to Reuters, diplomats said the Palestinians would be granted "special permission to stay" under national law with police surveillance and without the right to go abroad.
The radio said Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique closed the deal late Saturday after a series of telephone conversations with other EU officials.
In Europe the 13 will enjoy protection "on humanitarian grounds" and will be entitled to reunification with their families at a later date, the EU said Saturday.
Each country will apply its own laws should the Palestinians request asylum, and if Israel seeks to extradite any of them as it has indicated it may, the 15 EU member states will adopt a common position on the matter. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
