Palestinian officials reported this morning a deal to end the siege of the Nativity Church and remove the last flashpoint in Israel's West Bank offensive as Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon arrived in Washington for talks.
A senior Palestinian official said that under the accord, reached with the help of US and European mediators, six Palestinian militants trapped in the church for five weeks would be exiled, probably to Italy.
Another 35 would be sent to Gaza for trial in Palestinian courts and the rest of the more than 120 people still left in the basilica would be set free, according to the official, who asked not to be named.
Israel would not confirm the deal to end the often-deadly standoff at one of Christianity's holiest sites. An army spokeswoman said only: "We are near an agreement. But it is not yet concluded."
The accord, once implemented, would resolve the last major confrontation remaining from the Israeli military blitz against Palestinian militants and help smooth the way for a new round of Middle East diplomacy.
Word of the deal came four days after Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat was freed under heavy US pressure from a month-long siege of his West Bank base in Ramallah.
It also came as Mr Sharon arrived in Washington for talks with US President George W. Bush on the next steps toward peace after 19 months of violence that has claimed more than 2,000 lives.
The senior Palestinian official said the six militants to be exiled included five members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed group linked to Arafat's Fatah movement.
Also to be exiled is Mr Abdallah Daud, chief of the Palestinians' secret services in Bethlehem, which is the only major West Bank town still under Israeli occupation.
Three Palestinian leaders have been designated to work with the Israeli army in collecting arms and organizing the evacuation of the church, the scene of sporadic but sometimes heavy gunfire, the official said.
More than 200 Palestinian gunmen took refuge in the Church of the Nativity after Israeli troops and tanks and rumbled into Bethlehem on April 2nd.
Israeli officials said that 94 had been evacuated during the siege, leaving a total of 123 in the basilica, including about 40 wanted militants, other Palestinians and some clergymen.
AFP