Israeli: 9 Palestinians to Be Freed
By GREG MYRE
.c The Associated Press
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) - Nine youths allowed to leave the Church of the Nativity after 23 days of siege were in Israeli custody, but an army officer said they would be released Friday morning. Palestinian negotiators charged that the youths were under arrest and suspended talks until they are freed.
Agreement over release of the nine, ages 14 to 20, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to allow Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat travel to Gaza after being trapped in his West Bank office for nearly a month by Israeli tanks signaled that the two leftover sticking points from Israel's military operation in the West Bank might be close to resolution.
However, there was enough bad blood to delay or even scuttle agreements. In Bethlehem, Palestinians charged that Israel was violating its pledges by taking the youths for questioning, and Israel charged that a quick trial of the assassins of an Israeli Cabinet minister, which took place inside Arafat's encircled office, was invalid.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians said a woman was shot and killed by Israeli forces early Friday near the Gaza-Egypt border. The Israeli military said Palestinians attacked Israeli soldiers with gunfire, grenades and a mortar shell in a battle that lasted for several hours.
In Bethlehem, the nine youths left the Church of the Nativity, marking the traditional birthplace of Jesus, and were escorted away by Israeli soldiers. The youths, accompanied by two monks who later returned to the compound, brought out the badly decomposing bodies of two Palestinian policemen who were killed early in the confrontation. The bodies were placed in a Palestinian ambulance.
For Mohammed Habib, 15, the most acute problem inside the church was a shortage of food. He told The Associated Press that besides food, the things he missed the most during 23 days of siege were a pen and paper and his mother's cooking.
He said the soldiers questioned him and the others closely about the identity of the Palestinian militants holed up in the church. Col. Marcel Aviv, an Israeli military commander in the area, said the youths would be released Friday morning.
About 200 Palestinians, including many gunmen, fled into the shrine, one of Christianity's holiest sites, ahead of invading Israeli forces on April 2.
The Israeli military kept reporters away from the church, and to foil those who had vantage points on Bethlehem rooftops, soldiers set off smoke bombs to block reporters' view as the youths left the church.
Israel Radio reported early Friday that there was some progress in the negotiations, but gave no details. Aviv said a deal could be made ``in a matter of days,'' while repeating Israel's stand. A Palestinian official said negotiator Salah Taameri would consult with Arafat about the Israeli proposals.
In Ramallah, Israel's policy of isolating Arafat appeared to be unraveling. A line of diplomats has visited the embattled Palestinian leader in recent days. On Thursday, the Turkish and Greek foreign ministers entered the compound. The two, representing countries that were traditional enemies, are on a joint mission to show that rivals can overcome their differences.
Also, Israel allowed a senior Palestinian official to leave the office building. Mustafa Issa, the senior local Palestinian official in the city, was the first Palestinian to leave the compound since Israeli tanks and troops surrounded it shortly after their incursion into the West Bank March 29, a response to a series of deadly Palestinian suicide bomb attacks in Israel.
Reached in his office, Issa said the Palestinians had asked for his release ``to arrange the situation in Ramallah and to control both the security and civilian organizations in the city.''
As a condition to lifting the siege, Israel is demanding that Arafat turn over the assassins of Israeli Cabinet Minister Rehavam Zeevi, gunned down in Jerusalem on Oct. 17.
Instead, the four suspects were put on trial in Arafat's office, with police serving as lawyers and judges. After a one-day makeshift session, they were sentenced to terms ranging from one to 18 years, Palestinian officials said.
Israel rejected the procedure. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer called it ``the best show in town,'' and Sharon said, '``They will anyway be brought to trial in Israel.''
According to interim peace accords, Palestinians must extradite suspects to Israel unless they are put on trial by the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinians have never turned over a suspected militant to Israel.
Meanwhile, Danny Ayalon, Sharon's top foreign policy aide, said Sharon was considering allowing Arafat to leave the office for the Gaza Strip to test his ability and resolve to crack down on militants there. Ayalon said Israel has not presented its proposal to Arafat.
Palestinians say that in its three-week offensive, Israel destroyed most of the Palestinian security capability in the West Bank, rendering Arafat powerless to move against militants, though he has denounced attacks on Israeli civilians.
Israeli officials say that Gaza, which has been spared the punishing attack absorbed by the West Bank, still has security forces that could be used in a campaign against the violent groups, as a test of Arafat's intentions.
The Israeli military released a document Thursday claiming that top leaders of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militia linked to Arafat, were planning a suicide bomb attack at Tel Hashomer Hospital outside Tel Aviv. The leaders, Nasser Awais and Yasser Abu Bakr, were arrested during the Israeli sweep through the West Bank.
The military also said that a senior officer in the Palestinian Authority's security supplied explosives and ammunition for attacks against Israelis. The officer, known as Abu Fadi, was killed in the fighting.
04/25/02 21:59 EDT
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. |
