The unlikely odyssey of one of the West Bank’s most notorious militants began three months ago, when he and 12 other Palestinians deemed terrorists by Israel were flown to Cyprus, then dispersed to six other European countries. The deal to exile the militants, brokered by the European Union to end the 39-day Church of the Nativity siege, was fraught with symbolism. For Palestinians, the agreement brought back memories of the wars of 1948 and 1967, when hundreds of thousands were driven from their homes, never to return. For the hard-line government of Ariel Sharon, the deportations established a precedent that has gained popularity as Israel pursues its war against terror; last week Israel briefly announced plans to ship families of West Bank suicide bombers to exile in Gaza, backing down in the face of legal challenges and international protests. Wary of publicity and concerned about security, Spain has so far barred journalists from the Lubia compound. But in mid-July two NEWSWEEK correspondents, who had an invitation from Abayat and a long acquaintance with his family, were admitted inside for a visit with Abayat and his comrades–and a snapshot of their lives in exile.
The guerrillas insist they got a raw deal. After arriving in Madrid in mid-May, Abayat and his two fellow exiles were given $2,000 in cash, then packed into a police car and driven 100 miles northeast to an abandoned hunting lodge built during the Franco dictatorship and later used as a vacation retreat by former prime minister Felipe Gonzalez. Their arrival caused some commotion at first: journalists from the nearby town of Soria massed around the compound gates, begging the Guardia Civil to let them interview the exiles. A local citizens’ committee held an angry meeting to protest the presence of the “terrorists” in their midst. But soon the interest faded, and the three men–Abayat, Hamas activist Aziz Abayat, 30 (a distant relative), and fellow Tanzim fighter Ahmed Hamamreh, 29–were left under virtual house arrest. They spent days mostly alone in a two-story, white stucco house overflowing with dusty hunting trophies–stuffed owls and squirrels, antlers and deer heads mounted on the walls.
For Ibrahim Abayat, the comedown has been dramatic. A swaggering militia chief at the height of the intifada, he once bragged to journalists about attacks his men carried out against Jewish settlers. Now the unmarried 29-year-old spends his days enveloped in boredom–chain-smoking Marlboros in front of a TV set blaring Al-Jazeera and other Arabic satellite networks and making mobile-phone calls to family members in Bethlehem and other exiles scattered across Europe. Occasional visitors–a Spanish parliamentarian, pro-Palestinian activists from Madrid and Saragossa–break up the monotony, but Abayat says he feels like he’s living “in a gilded cage.” The ex-guerrilla commander seems haunted by his decision to seek refuge in the church on April 2 rather than go down fighting against the Israelis. “I feel that perhaps I did not live up to my promise to die as a martyr,” he admits. “A week ago I asked to return to Palestine whether they put me in jail or not.” The Spanish government denied the request.
The men say their complaints have brought some improvements in recent days. A volunteer Spanish teacher has begun visiting them five mornings a week. After spending a month virtually imprisoned in their remote lodge, the Palestinians are now allowed to make three supervised shopping trips each week to Soria, accompanied by plainclothes guards. Two weeks ago they spent five hours horseback riding in the forested mountains that rise just outside Soria. And there are signs their enforced isolation may be ending: Spanish authorities returned their passports, assured them they will soon receive residence permits and granted visas to the wives of Aziz Abayat and Ahmad Hamamreh. “In a short time they will be moved to a different location,” EU special envoy to the Middle East peace process Miguel Moratinos told news-week. “They will be having as much of a normal life as possible.”
That prospect has enraged people who believe that the Palestinians are terrorists and should be treated as such. Fifty-two U.S. congressmen have demanded that Ibrahim Abayat stand trial in the United States for the murder of Avi Boaz, an American citizen and longtime Israeli resident who was abducted last January in Beit Jala by Tanzim militiamen, riddled with bullets and dumped in an orchard. (Abayat denies any involvement.) “These terrorists should be treated with the contempt they deserve,” the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Madrid wrote to the European Union president. The exiles say that they expect to integrate fully into Spanish society–but insist they will never give up their dream of re-turn. “I will live to the last second of my life waiting to go back to Palestine,” says Ibrahim Abayat. If the Israelis have any say, his wait will indeed last a lifetime.
