One of the two Palestinian militants who have arrived in the State as temporary refugees is receiving medical attention for a bulletwound sustained during the siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. The men flew into Dublin Airport on a regular scheduled flight from Madrid yesterday morning.
The Iberian Airlines plane was met on the tarmac by members of the Garda immigration division who took the men away in a van to an undisclosed location, described as a secure house in the Dublin area.
The men have been named as Mr Jihad Jaara (31) and Mr Rami al-Kamel (22), both from Bethlehem. Mr Jaara was wounded in the leg by Israeli sniper fire and is currently on crutches.
They are members of President Yasser Arafat's Fatah organisation and they were deported by the Israeli authorities, along with 11 others, as part of an agreement with the EU and the Palestinian Authority to end the five-week siege at the church.
The Palestinian Delegate-General (ambassador), Mr Ali Halimeh, said the men were in "a safe place". He added: "They are being looked after very well. They are happy to be in Ireland but would be happier to be back home."
He added: "They have never committed any offences against any civilian Israelis. They were engaged in a fight, defending themselves and their city." He said Israeli publicity about the men was a "fabrication" by the intelligence services of that country, aimed at undermining the EU initiative.
For its part, the Israeli government has called the group of 13 exiles its "most wanted of wanted men". Israeli security sources have accused members of the group of being involved in shooting and bombing attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians, such as the killing of a 72-year-old disabled Israeli settler with US citizenship, Avi Boaz, near Bethlehem.
Ireland and five other EU states agreed to give temporary residence to the deportees on humanitarian grounds. However, some EU countries had serious reservations about the arrangements and the group was delayed in Cyprus while diplomatic haggling continued.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, initially decided to take one member but later agreed to accept a second. The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, made an order under the 1935 Aliens Act, granting them "leave to remain" in the jurisdiction for an initial period of 12 months.