The Israeli embassy has issued a statement ahead of the arrival in Dublin of two Palestinians, involved in the siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity.

Yasser Arafat’s agreement to allow the deportation of 13 suspected militants holed up in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity has angered many Arabs who see it as an ideological betrayal of the Palestinians’ long struggle for independence.

Talks aimed at ending a five-week standoff at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity broke down today, negotiators from both sides said.

Armed Palestinians besieged by Israeli forces in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity were today running out of food but refusing to surrender.