Palestinians rejected an Israeli proposal for 200 gunmen trapped in Bethlehem's Church of Nativity to choose between an Israeli court and lifelong exile, while the Israeli army threw journalists out of a hotel overlooking the holy Christian shrine.
According to AFP, Israel's security cabinet came up with the offer to try to break a near two-week deadlock that has seen both sides accuse the other of opening fire on the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born. The standoff has raised fears for the future of the Byzantine basilica.
"If they leave, it's for good, but if they choose to stay then they will have to stand trial in Israel," Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, told AFP about Israel's exile offer.
Gissin said the proposal had been on the table during talks in Ramallah Sunday between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
He said if the gunmen chose banishment they would have to sign a document pledging never to return to Palestinian territories, but in return would be guaranteed safe passage, with third party intervention, if they laid down their arms.
Gissin said it did not much matter which country they went to, and later told CNN television that a possible third party mediator could be the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
But the offer was swiftly rejected by Palestinian negotiators. "It's unacceptable. They will not accept exile. This is their country," said Salah al Taamari, the head of the Palestinian negotiating team.
"Sharon is in absolutely no position to judge these people. If they must be judged, it will be in front of a Palestinian court," said Taamari, appointed by Yasser Arafat to head talks.
He said the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, and representatives of the Vatican, should also participate in the negotiations, but said Israel has refused. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
