RAF flies siege militants out

The RAF today flew 13 Palestinians accused by Israel of "terrorism" to a holding centre in Cyprus as part of a deal to end the siege of Bethlehem's Basilica of the Nativity.

The 13 men, some accused of murder, others of planning suicide bombing attacks against Israeli civilians, were processed by the Israeli authorities at a military base and put on an RAF C130 Hercules. They were guarded by 30 members of the RAF regiment before the one-hour flight.

The plane touched down at Larnaca shortly before 11am BST and the men were met by city police chief Nicos Selepos and a squad of armed police. The men, who have not been tried or convicted of any crimes, will stay under guard at a Larnaca hotel until their countries of exile have been decided, foreign minister Yiannakis Cassoulides said.

That will be on Monday when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels. Countries mentioned as possible hosts are Spain, Austria, Greece, Luxembourg, Ireland and perhaps Canada. British Foreign Office officials said it was "almost inconceivable" that any of the exiles would be sent to Britain.

At least four of the deportees belong to the Abayat clan as well as Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade. Their relatives gathered today on the edge of Manger Square, where the basilica stands, for a last look.

But Bethlehem Christians will be glad to see the back of the Abayats, the city's best-known armed gang, whom they accuse of endangering their homes and lives, and of exploiting the sanctuary of the basilica and violating its sanctity by carrying weapons. The Abayats have fired on Israeli targets from Christian areas knowing that the Israelis would respond with heavy weapons.

Five and a half weeks into the Israeli siege, the breakthrough came at dawn as the first of the 13 men was escorted through the basilica's Door of Humility by Father Ibrahim Faltas, a Franciscan friar. Twenty-six other gunmen and Palestinian police were taken on buses into internal exile in the Gaza Strip.

The gunmen left their weapons inside the church, their refuge since Israeli troops stormed into Manger Square at the beginning of April. They walked through two metal-detecting machines before getting into buses. Some kissed the ground of their home town which few, if any, are likely to see again. Jihad Jihara, one of the 13 "senior terrorists", who was wounded in the leg by an Israeli sniper last week, was stretchered out by Israeli soldiers.

Another 85 civilians - among them 10 foreign peace activists including Alistair Hillman, 30, from Bristol - are also being released. The locals will be allowed to walk free but the foreigners who broke through an Israeli military cordon to enter the church last week are expected to be deported. Fearing this, the peace activists held up the final resolution by refusing to leave the church until the Israeli troops had gone.

Father Nicola, the senior Franciscan cleric among friars who remained in the complex throughout the siege, dismissed Israeli claims that any of the civilians had been "hostages". He said: "We were all there because we wanted to be there and among the Franciscans we were at home in our convent."

Outside, leaders from the Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox churches which are custodians of the basilica squabbled over which would be first back in. Israeli troops assigned equal priority to all three. The compromise solution was in marked contrast to conditions during the siege, when Israeli troops killed eight men including the basilica's Christian bell ringer.

The breakthrough does not spell an end to violence. On the edge of Gaza, Israel is massing troops and more than 100 battle tanks for an invasion of the strip. Senior Israeli officers have questioned the need for the raid. Prime minister Ariel Sharon seems determined to go ahead in revenge for the terror attack this week in Rishon Letzion.

? Three people were slightly wounded in an apparent hand-grenade attack by suspected Palestinian militants in the Israeli city of Beersheba today.

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