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Palestinian Exiles Still Waiting for Final Destination Breakthrough
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They have nothing but to wait |
LARNACA, Cyprus May 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The fate of 13 exiled Palestinian activists, temporarily hosted by Cyprus, will not be known until next week at the earliest, as the European Union still does not agree on their fate, news agencies reported.
A government spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP), in Larnaca Saturday that the men, expelled from their Palestinian homeland after the 38-day siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, will not leave the island before Tuesday.
"We expect a final agreement next Tuesday when the EU Foreign Ministers will meet," Michalis Papapetrou told AFP.
The EU has deferred a decision several times, with members of the 15-nation bloc unable to see eye-to-eye on the arrangements and legal status of the Palestinian activists.
Meanwhile, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique said Saturday, "The distribution of the 13 Palestinians had not been decided". He was referring to which countries within the EU the men could go to.
It seems the divisive issue of status has been settled but disagreement continues over distribution of the 13 among six EU member states that have agreed to take them in.
"The main difficulty over status has been resolved, and there are some other details left; it seems that we are heading for a final decision on Tuesday," said the Greek spokesman.
However, it is not the first time Cyprus was assured of a "swift decision" on the issue since the 13 were airlifted to the east Mediterranean island on May 10.
Their stay was expected to be for only a few days, and the government wanted them gone before the week was out.
But Papapetrou put a brave face on the uncertainty. "We are not putting down any deadlines, and we are satisfied that the main obstacles have been cleared, so we are confident we are nearing towards the end."
The six states offering to take in some of the 13 are Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
The Palestinians remain billeted in the resort town of Larnaca, at the heavily guarded Flamingo Beach hotel since the U.S. and EU-brokered deal to end the Bethlehem stand-off.
They remain segregated from the other guests and are only allowed out from their fourth-floor quarters at meal times.
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