At siege's end, exile is a controversial solution

"It runs directly counter to a principle we are fighting for, the right of return" of Palestinian refugees forced from their homes during the war that followed Israel's creation in 1948, he adds.

The planned departure of the gunmen struck an especially sensitive nerve among Palestinians because many fear that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's ultimate secret goal is to remove all Palestinians from the West Bank.

That plan for "transfer" has long been the avowed aim only of extreme right-wing parties in the Israeli parliament, but it has gained broader currency in Israeli political discourse in recent months.

Senior Palestinian officials, however, said their leader had had no choice. "The price is a heavy price, we know that very well," says Hanna Nasser, mayor of Bethlehem. "But this church has a value, and we could not afford for the siege to continue."

Others say the gunmens' fate did not constitute deportation, but rather an opportunity to travel abroad to pursue their studies. "If against my wishes I end up in Italy, I shall work on my Masters degree" said Abdullah Daoud, the Palestinian intelligence chief in Bethlehem, speaking by mobile telephone from inside the church.

"This is not deportation," argued Mohammed Madani, the governor of Bethlehem, who has also been trapped inside the holy site since the siege began. "The men will be guests in a host country."

Mr. Madani, who was due to be freed when the standoff ended, denied that the deal might set a precedent. "This is an exceptional case," he said in a telephone interview from inside the church. "We were flexible because our main goal was to end the standoff."

"Given the balance of power between us and the Israelis, this deal is very favorable to us," he argued. "The Israelis wanted to kill these men or to try them in Israeli courts, and that did not happen."

Arafat, who took direct control of the negotiations once the Israelis lifted their siege of his headquarters last week, came under intense pressure not only from Washington, Palestinian negotiators said, but also from the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches and the Vatican, which share responsibility for guarding the holy site.

Palestinian officials involved in the crisis said that the welfare of 140,000 people living under almost permanent curfew in the Bethlehem area for the past five weeks had also motivated the Palestinian leader's desire to reach an accord with the Israelis.

Life in this tourist town and in the neighboring town of Beit Jala has come to a complete standstill since the Israeli army occupied the area, with residents unable to go to work or to school, shops closed except for a few hours every four days, the government paralyzed, and the streets deserted.

"We could not afford to allow the Israelis to continue to hold Bethlehem hostage," says Mayor Hanna Nasser angrily. "I hope that they will get out and never come back again."

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