U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday that a deal ending the armed standoff between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity was close, but he declined to say when it would come.
"It's near. We need one or two little problems solved," he told reporters.
Asked if the deal would come Monday, Powell replied, "I don't want to say that. It's closer."
Israel's Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said Monday afternoon that the standoff at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity was to end in 'the coming hours.'
The Israeli minister said that most of those holed up inside the church would be allowed to go free, a few would be sent to the Gaza Strip and a small number would be deported.
The Palestinians want no more than eight of those in the church sent into exile in Italy, while Israel reportedly insists that at least a dozen be deported, The Associated Press reported. Another 30 Palestinian activists would be sent to Gaza, according to the Palestinians.
Israeli forces will leave Bethlehem and the nearby village of Beit Jala immediately after a deal is clinched, Army Radio quoted Ben-Eliezer as saying.
Earlier, Palestinian officials said that a deal had been struck to end the five-week siege, although a top Israeli official said there had been progress but no agreement.
"The deal consists of six to eight people to be (deported to) Italy and more than 30 to Gaza," said Hassan Abed Rabbo, a senior member of in Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. Those sent to Gaza could be imprisoned under the watch of American and British jailers.
Palestinian officials said the accord was worked out with representatives from the United States, Britain, the Vatican and the European Union.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops killed two Palestinians who tried to attack Kibbutz Kissufim near the Gaza Strip late Sunday night.
According to Israeli media reports, two Israeli soldiers were wounded in an exchange of fire with the Palestinians. One of the soldiers was seriously wounded and the second sustained light injuries.
In addition, Israel said its troops foiled another attempted infiltration by Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip into Israel overnight.
According to Israeli reports, troops spotted and opened fire on an armed Palestinians trying to cross the Karni crossing point. At dawn, investigators discovered the bodies of two Palestinians wearing bomb belts and armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, and other weaponry.
Palestinian sources said they were Islamic Jihad members.
Elsewhere, Israel detained a total of 12 Palestinians in a series of arrests in several locations throughout the West Bank overnight. Two Hamas members were arrested in the village of Burka, and a third in the Kalandiya refugee camp, both near Ramallah.
Two other Palestinians were arrested in the Dehaishe refugee camp, near Bethlehem. Seven others were detained as well. Troops left the areas at the conclusion of these operations, Israel Radio reported.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army reportedly tightened its closure on the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem.
In Bethlehem, Israeli soldiers overnight detained senior Hamas activist Ibrahim Abayat. Abayat was captured after Israeli soldiers blockaded a house in which seven Palestinians were holed up several hundred meters from the Church of Nativity.
Abayat left the house and surrendered to the soldiers after a tank shell was fired at the house. The Israeli army threatened to demolish the house with a bulldozer if the rest of the men in the building did not leave it. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
