Deal to End Church Siege Is Snagged on Angry Details
While there is a consensus between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on how to settle the siege at the Church of the Nativity here, the release of more than 100 people inside was held up today by the details.

Under intensifying American pressure, the two sides agreed Sunday night on the broad outline of a deal in which a small number of Palestinians would go abroad, a few dozen others would be transferred to the Gaza Strip, and the rest would go free.

But in each category there were snags. Negotiators were deadlocked over how many of the Palestinian gunmen inside the church would be sent abroad, most likely to Italy. At first, officials familiar with the negotiations said, Israel demanded that 4 to 6 of them face exile. But after seeing the full roster of people in the church, given by the Palestinians to an envoy from the European Union on Saturday, Israel increased the number to 13 on Monday.

The increase angered Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, who withheld his approval.

Moreover, the two sides were arguing over whether the exile would be permanent or temporary, with the Israelis seeking to make it permanent and the Palestinians demanding that it be for six months. Mr. Arafat was also said to be searching for a politically palatable label for the deportations, which he had resisted.

There was also a disagreement on how to handle the transfer of other gunmen to the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian officials said Mr. Arafat wanted those men — about 28 to 35 people — to be taken directly to Gaza without interrogation and without being placed in detention there. Israel wanted to interrogate them, the Palestinians said, and perhaps detain some, depending on what is gleaned from the interrogations.

Palestinians represesenting Mr. Arafat entered the church shortly before dawn today to notify those inside that, as a result of the latest deliberations, 13 of the men would go abroad and 26 others would go to the Gaza Strip in the event of a deal. They asked the men to sign consent letters, one person inside the church said. Mr. Arafat's representatives left at dawn, apparently to return to Ramallah with the men's approval, the person inside the church said by telephone.

The matter of interogations remained a source of contention, and Palestinians said on Monday that shifting positions by Israel had frustrated chances at an agreement. "The Israelis created new conditions that complicated the whole decision," said Hassan Abed Rabbo, a Fatah leader in Bethlehem.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/07/international/middleeast/07BETH.html