Gaza on edge; Bethlehem standoff ends

Agreement empties Church of the Nativity

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published Friday, May 10, 2002

JERUSALEM -- Tanks were poised outside the Gaza Strip, and Israel called up military reservists Thursday ahead of an expected attack, even as the standoff at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity came to an end.

Palestinians arrested 16 members of Hamas, the Islamic group that claimed it carried out a deadly suicide attack earlier this week, a first sign that Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat was taking action against militant groups.

Tanks were parked off Gaza, the home base of the Hamas militant group, and Israeli forces around the strip were being beefed up Thursday night.

Mohammed Dahlan, Arafat's security chief in Gaza, said the Palestinians were braced for an expected 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."

Church of the Nativity

Palestinian gunmen wanted by Israel emerged from the Church of the Nativity today, marking the end of the 51/2-week standoff at one of Christianity's holiest shrines.

In a deal reached Thursday with European negotiators, 13 militants were being deported to European countries and another 26 were being transferred to the Gaza Strip. About 85 civilians inside were being freed.

The arrangement cleared the way for Israeli forces to withdraw from the last West Bank city they occupy, but did not spell an end to Palestinian-Israeli bloodshed.

The gunmen emerged, one-by-one and accompanied by priests, from the basilica's low-slung main entrance, the Gate of Humility. From there, they walked along Manger Square, on a path marked by a row of police barricades. They passed through two metal detectors, and were briefly questioned by three Israeli soldiers in full battle gear before being escorted to a red-and-white Israeli bus.

Militiaman Jihad Jaara, one of those slated for deportation, was carried out on a stretcher, with a bandage on his right leg. He was taken to an ambulance.

The first to come out just before 7 a.m. (9 p.m. PDT) was the intelligence chief of Bethlehem, Abdullah Daoud, the most senior in the group.

Among the 13 to be deported are nine members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militia linked to Arafat's Fatah movement, and three members of the Islamic militant Hamas group.

The 13th is Daoud, the intelligence chief.

The Palestinians were to be taken to an Israeli military base, where their identities were to be verified. From there, the group of 13 was to be taken to an airport, where a British plane was to fly them to Cyprus.

The second group was to be bused to Gaza and the civilians were to be released in Palestinian areas, Israeli military spokeswoman Capt. Sharon Feingold said.

From Cyprus, the 13 are to be dispersed among Italy, Spain, Austria, Greece, Luxembourg and Ireland.

Israel's siege over Christ's reputed birthplace was one of the focal points of its West Bank invasion, and ending it became an international cliffhanger of on-again, off-again breakthroughs.

Calling up the reserves

The reserve call-up was smaller than the one that preceded last month's major assault, during which troops occupied six of the eight main Palestinian towns in the West Bank for periods of up to several weeks and fought running battles with Palestinian gunmen.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres hinted Israel might have a more limited operation in mind this time, "striking at centers from which the suicide attackers come, or the houses from which they come, or the nests from which the organization of suicide bombers comes."

Military sources said the operation will be centered on Gaza but might not be restricted to the strip.

The objective is to hit at Hamas leaders and end the sense of immunity the militants in Gaza have enjoyed, senior official sources said.

Military commentators also said they expected the Gaza operation to be more limited than the West Bank offensive. Fighting in densely populated Gaza would be much more complicated and could expose troops to greater risks.

European Union envoy Miguel Moratinos condemned the most recent suicide attack, but said the EU was "very concerned" it could lead to increasing violence and a new military action.

The EU was working with the United States, Russia and the United Nations to try to prevent that, he said.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat criticized the expected operation.

"Such an attack will lead to disastrous consequences for the Palestinian people there," he said. "This will be adding fuel to the fire."

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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