stand-off and long negotiations that involved the Vatican and other mediators. 13 men, named by Israel as terrorists, were the first to leave the church, where many Christians believe Jesus was born.
They were flown were flown to Cyprus, which agreed to hold the men until European Union officials decide which European countries will accept them. Italy, Greece and Spain are among the countries mentioned, the Voice of America (VOA) said. One of the 13 Palestinians, Aziz Abayed, denied involvement involvement in bomb attacks against Israel and said the gunmen were not responsible for the destruction of religious relics inside the church.
DESTRUCTION
"If you can’t believe us….the destruction comes from the Israeli side," he said in a phone interview with the Cable News Network before the siege ended. Asked if his men had tried to force Church of Nativity priests to allow Muslim funeral services of dead gunmen, he said: "This is a Palestinian church, we are all brothers."
Soon after Abayed and the 12 other gunmen left the church, 26 other Palestinians, were sent to the Gaza Strip, where they were reportedly welcomed as heroes. News agencies quoted Palestinian officials as saying that the men will not be jailed, and are now free in their homeland.
Over 80 other civilians who were trapped in the church but not wanted by the Israelis were checked briefly and allowed to go free, VOA said. 10 foreign peace activists who had slipped into the Bethlehem church apparently stayed behind initially, but Israeli police went inside and brought them out.
EXPLOSION
Despite the breakthrough in Bethlehem, tensions remained high in the region amid reports that a bomb or hand grenade exploded in the desert city of Beersheba, about 65 kilometres south of Jerusalem, slightly wounding at least four people. Police reportedly arrested two suspects, although no one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
It came as Israeli forces continued to mass along the Gaza Strip for what is widely expected to be a military response to Tuesday’s Palestinian suicide bombing – an attack that killed 15 Israelis at reportedly wounded dozens others. The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem described the attack in pool hall in a Tel Aviv suburb as "the largest terror incident" since Israel began its recent military offensive Operation Defensive Shield.
VOA said that since the attack, Palestinian officials arrested 16 members of the militant group Hamas, which claimed responsibility for the bombing. United States President George W. Bush called the arrests "a positive development," but cautioned that whether the militants remain in jail will be "an important test" for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
