Fiasco as deal to bring end to siege at Bethlehem church is vetoed

A complicated agreement to end the 36-day siege of the Church of the Nativity at 2pm yesterday was undone at the last minute by an elementary error of diplomacy: nobody bothered to inform the main player.
Inside the church 123 Palestinian gunmen, clergy and civilians had joined hands in prayer, posed for photographs, and dined on a last supper of spaghetti.

But hopes of ending the standoff foundered as Israeli soldiers began removing barricades ready for the exit of 123 Palestinians trapped inside the church when Italy - whose support was crucial to the deal - announced that it had not been officially consulted.

Under the arrangements overseen by officials from the CIA and the EU, Israel was to withdraw its tanks from outside the church yesterday, freeing the Palestinians trapped inside since April 2.

Thirteen men - hardened Palestinian militants, according to Israel - were to be deported to Italy for an indefinite exile. However, they would not be jailed, and several said they believed their families would join them.