Italy is coming under heavy diplomatic pressure to agree to take in 13 wanted Palestinian terrorists. Italy\'s hesitation, and the absence of any other state willing to take its place, is currently holding up an agreement to end the five-week-old standoff around the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
The crisis began when armed and wanted Palestinian terrorists used the church, at the beginning of April, to evade Israeli troops and hold dozens of Christian clergymen as hostages. Some of the nearly 100 people who managed to exit the church over the past weeks told of vandalism caused by the Arab gunmen to church property. However, CNN reported that church managers said that they would not allow journalists to enter and document the damage, as \"Bethlehem is largely a Moslem city, and we have to continue living here with them.\"
In the past days, Israeli and PA negotiators finalized an agreement according to which the hostages and other non-terrorists would go free, some terrorists would be sent to Gaza, and 13 of the most heavily-wanted terrorists would be deported to Italy. The 13 include:
* Mahmoud Tirawi, a PLO intelligence official from Shechem who escaped to the Bethlehem church at the beginning of Operation Defensive Shield. He is wanted for organizing shooting attacks at Gilo, smuggling arms, building explosives, and giving shelter to terrorists.
* Wallah Salameh from Dehaishe, who was involved in planning the Beit Yisrael post-Bar Mitzvah massacre (10 killed) and the Kiryat HaYovel supermarket attack (2 killed).
* Mahmoud Hamdan, who was behind the murders of Lt.-Col. Yehuda Edri, Sarit Amrani, and American citizen Avi Boaz. Coincidentally, Riad al-Amour, another of those involved in the murder of Lt.-Col. Edri, was arrested yesterday near Bethlehem.
* Kamal Hamid, Fatah secretary in Bethlehem, funded various attacks and weapons purchases.
* Ibrahim Abeyat, Hamas leader.
* Ibrahim Hamoud, who sent two terrorists to commit a failed attack at Jerusalem\'s Binyanei HaUmah.
* Abu Gal\'if, responsible for many attacks and shootings in the Tunnels Road area.
* According to some reports, two others of the 13 perpetrated the brutal lynching of Kobi Mandell and Yosef Ishran outside Tekoa last year.
The Supreme Court today rejected a suit by the Terror Victims Association (TVA) demanding that the terrorists not be allowed to leave the country without being tried. TVA supported its demand on several grounds:
* The decision is a life-threatening one, as experience shows that released terrorists return to terrorist activity;
* The murderers of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze\'evi are being incarcerated in Jericho, while these 13 are being sent to vacation in Italy; \"Is Minister Ze\'evi\'s blood redder than that of simple citizens?\" asked TVA.
* What will happen if they kill Jews in Italy, as they say they will? Will Israel then ask for their return-extradition to Israel?
* It\'s not a punishment, but rather a vacation.
Counsel for the State, however, argued that the issue is diplomatic, not legal, and therefore not justiciable. Chief Justice Barak signaled that he was taking the suit seriously by asking if Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein had approved the deal - but in the end, the Court ruled that the issue was in fact not in their purview. TVA Chairman Meir Indor said afterwards, \"The Supreme Court made a painful statement today, discriminating between one petitioner and another.\"
The crisis began when armed and wanted Palestinian terrorists used the church, at the beginning of April, to evade Israeli troops and hold dozens of Christian clergymen as hostages. Some of the nearly 100 people who managed to exit the church over the past weeks told of vandalism caused by the Arab gunmen to church property. However, CNN reported that church managers said that they would not allow journalists to enter and document the damage, as \"Bethlehem is largely a Moslem city, and we have to continue living here with them.\"
In the past days, Israeli and PA negotiators finalized an agreement according to which the hostages and other non-terrorists would go free, some terrorists would be sent to Gaza, and 13 of the most heavily-wanted terrorists would be deported to Italy. The 13 include:
* Mahmoud Tirawi, a PLO intelligence official from Shechem who escaped to the Bethlehem church at the beginning of Operation Defensive Shield. He is wanted for organizing shooting attacks at Gilo, smuggling arms, building explosives, and giving shelter to terrorists.
* Wallah Salameh from Dehaishe, who was involved in planning the Beit Yisrael post-Bar Mitzvah massacre (10 killed) and the Kiryat HaYovel supermarket attack (2 killed).
* Mahmoud Hamdan, who was behind the murders of Lt.-Col. Yehuda Edri, Sarit Amrani, and American citizen Avi Boaz. Coincidentally, Riad al-Amour, another of those involved in the murder of Lt.-Col. Edri, was arrested yesterday near Bethlehem.
* Kamal Hamid, Fatah secretary in Bethlehem, funded various attacks and weapons purchases.
* Ibrahim Abeyat, Hamas leader.
* Ibrahim Hamoud, who sent two terrorists to commit a failed attack at Jerusalem\'s Binyanei HaUmah.
* Abu Gal\'if, responsible for many attacks and shootings in the Tunnels Road area.
* According to some reports, two others of the 13 perpetrated the brutal lynching of Kobi Mandell and Yosef Ishran outside Tekoa last year.
The Supreme Court today rejected a suit by the Terror Victims Association (TVA) demanding that the terrorists not be allowed to leave the country without being tried. TVA supported its demand on several grounds:
* The decision is a life-threatening one, as experience shows that released terrorists return to terrorist activity;
* The murderers of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze\'evi are being incarcerated in Jericho, while these 13 are being sent to vacation in Italy; \"Is Minister Ze\'evi\'s blood redder than that of simple citizens?\" asked TVA.
* What will happen if they kill Jews in Italy, as they say they will? Will Israel then ask for their return-extradition to Israel?
* It\'s not a punishment, but rather a vacation.
Counsel for the State, however, argued that the issue is diplomatic, not legal, and therefore not justiciable. Chief Justice Barak signaled that he was taking the suit seriously by asking if Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein had approved the deal - but in the end, the Court ruled that the issue was in fact not in their purview. TVA Chairman Meir Indor said afterwards, \"The Supreme Court made a painful statement today, discriminating between one petitioner and another.\"