Last Palestinian deportees leave Cyprus

Abdul Wahid Dawoud, the last Palestinian deportee exiled to Cyprus for lifting the siege on the " church of Nativity" in Bethlehem last may left the island yesterday to an undisclosed location.

The Cypriot foreign minister who mediated in finalizing the evacuation of the Palestinians did not disclose the side offered for the Palestinian as a resort. However, he said it is a non- European far-away state where he will be meeting with relatives. The Cypriot foreign minister said that by the evacuation of Dawoud, Cyprus's mission and its role has been completed concerning this issue.

Dawoud who was living in a small restaurant in one of Nicosia's suburbs was the first in the list of wanted Palestinians by Israel, and no European side which accepted the other 12 Palestinians wanted to host him.

Dawoud arrived in Cyprus together with other 12 Palestinians on May 10 after lifting the siege from the Church of the Nativity. The Palestinians stayed in a small hotel in the coastal city of Larnaka for less than two weeks and then on May 22 they left for 6 European countries that accepted to host them.