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E.U. Foreign Ministers Delay Decision on Exiled Palestinians’ Fate
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| The exiled
Palestinians escorted onto a police bus in Larnaca airport,
Cyprus, May 10.
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BRUSSELS,
May 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – E.U. foreign ministers
Monday, May 13, delayed a decision on the fate of 13 Palestinians who
are currently exiled in Cyprus after their release from a 39-day siege
at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, news agencies reported.
Instead,
they instructed their ambassadors to the European Union to come up
with a solution "by the end of this week" on taking in the
13 exiled Palestinians, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
During
a regular monthly foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, AFP
reported, six of the 15 EU member states, which are Belgium, Greece,
Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain indicated they could accept some of
the Palestinians.
The
13 were among 123 people evacuated from the church Friday, May 10,
under a U.S.- and E.U.-brokered deal to end the Israeli blockade of
Christianity's holiest sites.
In
Nicosia on Sunday, May 12, Cypriot government spokesman Michalis
Papaetrou said the 13 – billeted at a beachfront hotel - should
leave Cyprus in the first days of this week.
"According
to the agreed arrangement...the 13 Palestinians we are playing host to
temporarily should leave Cyprus in the first days of this week,
specifically Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest,” he said.
Palestinian
sources said the men preferred to be split up evenly, and wanted to go
to either Greece or Spain, rather than Italy and Portugal - the names
of some countries touted as potential hosts.
Exiling
all of them to the same destination has been ruled out for security
reasons, the same source said.
Israeli
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, speaking to reporters Friday in Rome,
acknowledged the deal to free the Palestinians was "a political
arrangement to overcome an extremely complicated juridical
situation."
But
Peres added that Israel reserved the right to demand their
extradition, a point that Greek officials said the E.U. foreign
ministers would be considering Monday, said AFP.
Samir
Abu Ghazaleh, the Palestinian representative to Cyprus, maintained
that the "exile of our brothers will only be temporary."
Twelve
of the 13 Palestinians are confined under tight security to the fourth
floor of the Flamingo Beach hotel in the southern city of Larnaca.
The
13th Palestinian, Jihad Jawara, who was shot by snipers during the
five-week siege, was transferred to hospital on arrival for surgery.
On
Sunday, they were given a haircut and their heavy beards were cleanly
shaved, one eyewitness said.
E.U.
Middle East envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos, speaking to reporters at the
hotel on Saturday, May 11, assured that they would go into exile
"as free men."
They
are among a group of 123 Palestinians who took refuge in the Nativity
Church which the Israeli occupation army besieged for 39 days.
Following
the deal that ended the siege, 26 others were transferred to the Gaza
Strip and another 84 were freed.
Reports
had initially said they were all destined for Italy as talks to
release the men continued last week, but the move fell through after
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi complained that he had not been kept
fully informed of negotiations, reported CNN.
Abu
Ghazaleh, who visited the men Sunday, said their freedom of movement
was restricted by the Cypriots "for their [men’s] own
security," without elaborating on the security concerns, CNN
added.
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