Nativity deportees urge PA to be included in peace talks

Palestinian fighters deported to Europe in 2002 following an Israeli invasion of Bethlehem have urged President Abbas to include their case in peace talks. Spokesman for Palestinian deportees Fahmi Kanaan told Ma'an that the Palestinian Authority should include the case of deportees as a precondition for returning to negotiations. "We have been demanding to return to Bethlehem for 12 years. We were deported upon an agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, sponsored by the United States," Kanaan said. Kanaan's daughter, Isra, said that she has the right to live in the city where she was raised and to be with her extended family. In April 2002, during a major Israeli incursion into the West Bank Israel named Operation Defensive Shield, Israeli forces besieged the Nativity Church in Bethlehem after dozens of fighters took refuge in the church. After 40 days, the negotiations involving international organizations ended the siege with the deportation of 13 fighters to European countries and 26 others to the Gaza Strip. Israel agreed to let the fighters return to their homes after two years, but 11 years on the deportees remain in exile.