Early Sunday, Israeli forces moved into the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank. Israel Radio reported that about 20 tanks were involved. Israeli military officials said the operation was limited and started after "receiving information of plans to dispatch a suicide bomber from the camp to Israel."
Around 10 A.M., Palestinian sources reported that the Israeli forces were leaving Tulkarem.
In Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, hopes of a breakthrough were raised and dashed throughout Saturday as U.S. and European representatives joined the effort to resolve the standoff, which started on April 2 when 30 wanted activists fleeing Israeli troops took refuge inside.
Late Saturday night, the head of the Palestinian civil liaison apparatus in Bethlehem, Imad a-Natsha, handed a list of 123 names of those inside the church to the Palestinian and Israeli negotiators.
The list was relayed to the negotiators by one of the priests in the church. A British diplomat also participated in the negotiations Saturday night.
According to Haaretz, the Israeli Shin Bet security service took responsibility over the weekend for contacts aimed at resolving the standoff. The authority of the Israeli army’s negotiating team at the site has been reduced, and talks are now being conducted between the Shin Bet and top Palestinian Authority officials, with CIA mediation.
Israel says the activists inside have carried out attacks on Israeli civilians and demands they be exiled or stand trial in the Jewish state. Palestinian officials reject such proposals but say they will accept the men's detention under foreign supervision.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, Israeli soldiers allowed boxes of food and cigarettes to be taken inside the church. Talks had broken down on Friday over their blocking of supplies.
Near the church, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy was moderately wounded Saturday by an explosion, hospital officials said. A sign outside the building described it as a medical clinic, but Israeli troops who later searched the building said it was an explosives laboratory.
The army showed reporters at the scene bags of gunpowder and paraphernalia indicating support for the Hamas group, and a collapsed wall in the building and broken glass indicated an internal explosion. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
