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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Delegation of 2002 Nativity Church deportees meet with Haniyeh |
| 2008-07-03 |
| Ma'an – A delegation of the Nativity Church deportees, taken from Bethlehem by Israeli forces during the 2002 incursion and deported to Europe and the Gaza strip, met with Prime Minister of the de facto government Ismael Haniyeh on Tuesday evening to discuss the national dialogue and the issue of deportees. One of the representatives of the group, Iyad 'Adawi, said in a phone call with Ma'an that the delegation includes all deportees affiliated with Fatah, Hamas, the Popular Front and the Islamic Jihad movement. "The deportees of the Church demanded Haniyeh to include them in the prisoners' swap so they can return to Bethlehem. They insisted that they don’t want to return as prisoners, but they want their case to be separated from the exchange deal of Palestinian detainees where Haniyeh supported the issue of deportees," 'Adawi explained. He called on the church deportees to support the national dialogue initiative of President Mahmoud Abbas. "The coming days will witness several meetings for national unity and to support the interests of the Palestinian people," Haniyeh asserted. In early 2002, an Israeli incursion into the West Bank city of Bethlehem left dozens of Palestinians seeking refuge in the Nativity Church. Israeli forces besieged the church for 70 days, and many of those inside were subsequently killed or injured. To end the siege, the Palestinian Authority and Israel negotiated a deal to deport 42 Palestinians who were still inside the church, sending 28 to the Gaza Strip and 14 to Europe. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 I take it these are the mooks that are stuck in Gaza and not the guys who got deported to Europe? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-07-03 13:25 |