Thirteen Palestinians holed up in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem are to be brought to Cyprus before being moved to other countries, Cypriot Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides said late Thursday.
"A British aircraft will leave Cyprus to pick up 13 Palestinians, they will then be brought back to Cyprus and handed over to Cypriot authorities at Larnaca," he told a press conference.
"The Cyprus government has accepted to keep for a few days in transit the 13 Palestinians, which Israel had demanded leave the country or be arrested.” "The Palestinians will stay in Cyprus for a brief period until negotiations are complete on where they will go from here. Spain and Greece have expressed an interest in taking in these Palestinians," he said.
Cassoulides added the plane was ready to leave Cyprus Thursday night, and that the Palestinians would be brought back to the eastern Mediterranean island "as soon as possible" but could not be more specific.
Diplomatic sources quoted by Italy's Ansa news agency had said earlier that the 13 would leave for Cyprus on Thursday before being taken in by several European countries and Canada. The states that have agreed to host the 13 who are on Israel's most wanted list, are Austria, Canada, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain, according to Italian political sources.
For his part, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in Madrid he hoped the issue of the 13 Palestinians, whose fate has created problems for previous attempts at a deal, would be resolved "in the coming hours."
Gaza Strip
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks were poised outside Gaza and Israel called up military reservists Thursday ahead of an expected retaliatory attack for Palestinian suicide bombings.
According to media reports, tanks were parked off the Strip and Israeli forces around it were being beefed up Thursday night.
Many Palestinians expected Israeli forces to hit the Gaza Strip. Palestinians across the Strip made a run on food, fuel and other supplies during the day, fearing they would be trapped at home under Israeli curfew as West Bank compatriots were.
Sand barricades were set up on many streets in recent days, and according to one rumor, explosive devices were to be placed in the barricades if the army decides to advance towards Gaza Strip cities and refugee camps.
A senior leader of Hamas in Gaza, Mahmoud al-Zahar, promised a fight if the Israelis stormed the area. "We will defend ourselves and our people with all our might and capabilities," he told Reuters.
Saeb Erekat, PA chief negotiator, said an Israeli army thrust into the Gaza Strip would be disastrous. "It is like adding fuel to fire. We warn against the catastrophic human and environmental consequences of such an attack on the Gaza Strip, which is the most densely populated area in the world," Erekat told Reuters.
Mohammed Dahlan, PA security chief in Gaza Strip, said the Palestinians were expecting an attack. "Everyone is prepared and our people know how to confront the occupation," said Dahlan, who has been in the West Bank town of Ramallah for months.
"We said this before, and we mean it now — if the occupation forces carry out an aggression, we will face this aggression."
Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said the army had decided on "functional" action not "territorial" action. "That is to say, attack the areas from where the suicide attackers leave or the houses from where they leave or the nests where they originate," he said on Israeli TV. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
