Deal reached on standoff at Bethlehem Church

Israeli officials confirm a deal has been reached to end the 38-day standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Israeli officials confirm a deal has been reached to end the 38-day standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

It will divide among several countries the 13 suspected militants Israel wants deported.

Under the deal, reached by European negotiators, Italy and Spain will take some of the militants, while the remainder are to be spread among at least four other countries.

The Israeli military says they do not believe the 123 Palestinians in the church will leave until tomorrow morning.

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Palestinian sources said the 13 men will first be taken to Cyprus and from there flown to their final destinations.

A previous deal that would have sent the 13 militants to Italy unraveled when Italian officials balked, saying they had not be fully consulted about the plan.

An Italian Foreign Ministry official said that under the proposed deal, Italy and Spain would take some of the militants while Austria, Greece, Luxembourg, Ireland and perhaps even Canada might take the rest.

"Cyprus has agreed to take the 13 people as a temporary measure," said Cypriot foreign minister Mr Yiannakis Cassoulides.

He says a British military aircraft is waiting at the Akrotiri RAF base to fly to Israel to pick up the Palestinians, who have been inside the church for 38 days. It was not immediately clear when the plane would leave.

Details of the terms of exile would be worked out at a European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday, the official said.

PA