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9 May 2002 Italy 'in dark' over Bethlehem deal
News of its role in the deal has surprised Italy By David Willey BBC Rome correspondent An agreement to end the month-long siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem brokered in Jerusalem appears to be on the point of foundering after Italy's abrupt refusal to grant asylum to 13 of the Palestinian militants holed up inside. Deal reached to end the siege of Bethlehem's Nativity
Church Negotiators have reached an agreement to end a five-week-old armed standoff at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. However there's still some confusion over when the people inside will come out. Both sides say 26 militants will be sent to the Gaza Strip and all civilians will leave the church. But 13 men on Israel's most-wanted list are expected to remain in the church for the time being. It's thought they'll eventually be sent to another country, possibly Spain or Italy. The deal should allow Israeli troops to withdrawal from Bethlehem. Dozens of militants, Palestinian security men, and civilians took refuge in the church at the beginning of April, when Israel's army entered Bethlehem in response to a series of Palestinian suicide bombings. Israel to hit back after suicide bomb
The Israeli security cabinet has approved military operations against what it calls "terrorist targets". It follows a Palestinian suicide bombing close to Tel Aviv on Tuesday night, which forced Israel's Prime Minister to cut short his visit to Washington. A government statement's given no details of what operations have been given the go-ahead but it's now up to Ariel Sharon to decide what action to take. At least 15 people were killed and sixty others wounded in the explosion at a packed billiard hall in Rishon Letzion. The attack drew the condemnation of the Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, who ordered his security forces to foil any attempt to attack Israeli civilians. The US President, George Bush, praised Arafat's action as an "incredibly positive sign". He's also urged Sharon to heed his vision of peace when responding to Tuesday's suicide bombing. France despatches Foreign Minister to Pakistan after bomb attack
The attack in Pakistan has caused outrage in France where President Jacques Chirac described the bombers as "cowardly". He announced that he had sent the Defence Minister Michelle Alliot-Marie to oversee the repatriation of the injured French nationals. She will also meet Pakistani officials to discuss their government's response. No where has the shock been felt more deeply than in Cherbourg where the victims employers are based. The defence firm's director, Laurent Barthelemy, explained they had only recently resumed sending people abroad after the September 11the attacks. He said there were forty people working on the project in Pakistan. There had been no known threat made against the French workers. However security had been stepped for them and other foreign nationals in Pakistan since the war in Afghanistan. |
