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Some 20,000 Israeli Troops Have Marched into West Bank and Gaza

Aired March 13, 2002 - 10:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Two phrases that seem to go together all too well, unfortunately, the Middle East and escalating violence. Some 20,000 Israeli troops have marched into the West Bank and Gaza in the largest show of force there in 20 years. On the diplomatic front, the Bush administration is now rushing an envoy to the region. And the U.N. Security Council demands a cease-fire and approves a resolution that backs the concept of a Palestinian state.

Quite a bit going on at the same time.

CNN's senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar joining us now. She's got the latest on this developments for us.

Hello, Sheila.

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.

Yes, indeed, continuing violence. Here we have Israeli tanks remaining in the Palestinian city of Ramallah. That is the West Bank center of Palestinian commercial and political life. We have reports of Israeli tanks going into the village of Jabala, in Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces have said yesterday we had Israeli forces in Ramallah and in Jabala in the West Bank, the largest single day of combat for Israeli forces in 20 years, taking it back in the Lebanon War. The Israeli chief of staff said, yes, 20,000 soldiers involved in this operation they are calling Operation Vital Security.

In Ramallah, there are continuing reports of gun battles, more violence today. We have had an Italian photojournalist killed there, a French photographer and an Egyptian television correspondent wounded. It is a very difficult situation in the community obviously for people living there. They are unable it leave their homes, at risk they will encounter some kind of gun battle or come under attack.

This all comes, Leon, at a time when we have obviously Vice President Cheney in the region at this moment talking to Egyptian President Mubarak. He is getting an earful. He may be wanting to talk about Iraq. People in the region want to talk about the Israeli- Palestinian situation, and are suggesting strongly to Vice President Cheney that in fact the United States needs to be more involved here.

The United States will get more involved tomorrow about 24 hours from now, when U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni arrives here. His aim is to try get a cease-fire between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Given the current level of violence, that will be quite a job -- Leon.

HARRIS: Well, Sheila, let me ask you something again about Vice President Cheney's trip to the Middle East, where he is trying to gain support for possible attacks on Iraq. There were some on this side of the pond saying that perhaps this proposal introduced in the U.N. Security Council by the U.S. is actually linked to Vice President Cheney's effort to rally support. Are you hearing any suspicions of that there?

MACVICAR: Part of what the United States is hearing here from its moderate Arab allies is that it must be seen to be more engaged in the reason. It can't just be talking about the Iraq problem and problem that the United States has with Saddam Hussein; it has to be seen to be actively engaged in trying to deal specifically with the problem that for many leaders in the region is the biggest problem, and that is the Israeli -- the question of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

So yesterday's resolution was U.S. written and sponsored resolution at the U.N. Security Council was important. It restated the principle of the two-state solution, as it's known. A Palestinian state and an Israeli state side by side, something that both parties had already accepted, and also in the accords of 1993, but it called also on both parties to end the violence, and that is important, because over the course of the last number of months of this uprising, we have seen the U.S. administration more often call upon Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, to put an end to the violence.

In the last few days, we have begun to see them talk also about Mr. Sharon and what he must do to reduce the level of violence -- Leon.

HARRIS: Very interesting. Sheila MacVicar in Jerusalem, thank you very much. Hope to talk to you later on.

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