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CNN Live Today

Nablus May Face Israeli Forces

Aired April 03, 2002 - 14:36   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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the Middle East, and Jerusalem. Bill Hemmer, we were just reporting that perhaps a sixth Palestinian city, the largest in the West Bank, Nablus, may now be facing troops and tanks there by the Israelis. Do you know any more about what is taking place there?

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, watching the same reports, Carol, and frankly, it wouldn't be much of a surprise in the region. We've been hearing now for the past 14 hours that Nablus might be the next target in the West Bank. And indeed, it looks like, at this point, those tanks are on the move.

And by the way, the Palestinians inside that town had vowed to defend themselves. I do not know, Carol, and frankly we don't have anybody on the scene there, so we can't say 100 percent, based on verifiable reports on the ground, but it's quite possible that the Palestinians, waiting for the Israeli military, might have been waiting for a showdown as well.

But as you mentioned, though, point of fact. Now, this is the sixth major town throughout the West Bank now, with Operation Protective Wall now under way. And we've been talking about Bethlehem, Carol, and clearly that continues to be a rather tense situation tonight.

LIN: All right, but at least some westerners were safely evacuated out of Bethlehem, as we were reporting earlier.

HEMMER: Yes, indeed. Foreign nationals, Americans, Brits, we're told, some Italians as well. This was an effort launched by diplomats earlier today. They took a column of armored cars down to Bethlehem, trying to get in. And indeed it appears, in the past hour or two, that they were successful. We've seen the videotape already. And we're also told, Carol, that those leaving in that armored column convoy, coming back here to Jerusalem. That's what we're being told, anyway.

LIN: Bill, I'm just wondering, as you sort of move around Jerusalem, what sort of feedback are you getting, from both Israeli Jews as well as perhaps some Israeli Arabs you might encounter, or even Palestinians who might even be working in the very hotel where you're standing? What are people telling you from their perspective? What's going on? HEMMER: I'll tell you, Carol, I was here nine years ago and I spent a good, hard solid month studying this very city behind me, the Old City of Jerusalem. And again, I want to tell you it's a remarkably different scenario now, coming back nine years later.

I've only been here on this trip five days. I'm in no way an expert on the area. But the one thing that really strikes me is that I see an awful lot of fear, on both sides. The Israelis are afraid of more random violence and suicide bombings. And the Palestinians, frankly, are scared to death of the Israeli military. That is quite a dominating feeling that I have been able to pick up on on both sides. Fear is a major factor.

And you know, we talk about the military on one side, the Israelis, and we talk about the Palestinian militants on the other side. But you know what? Frankly, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people in the middle, who indeed have to live with this every day. And those people right now are paying a huge price. And I think fear is probably the one word that I would use the most, based on five days of talking and walking here.

LIN: With so much breaking news, we don't often get to talk about the nuances that take place in Jerusalem, how much Israeli Jews and Palestinians actually have contact with one another. In a lot of different situations, as I just mentioned, say at a hotel or a construction site, Israeli Jews an Palestinians an other Arabs live and work together. Some of those relationships continue to this day.

And I think it's very interesting how that dynamic might play out, when you've got all this military action taking place in the West Bank territories. No one knows where it's going to head.

HEMMER: Listen, eventually, they're going to find a solution here. I firmly believe that. I don't know if that's a day, a week, a year, 10 years or a hundred years. But eventually they're going to have to find a way, because both will not be eliminated from this part of the world.

But curious at this point, Carol, to see what type of activity develops on the streets of Jerusalem. We've been in a week-long holiday here during Passover. So we've been reporting, and accurately so, that the streets have been essentially deserted. Not completely. I mean, there are a lot of cars that still move about throughout the day here.

But the holiday is still ongoing. And once that holy period breaks, we'll see what kind of life is still sustaining itself here in Jerusalem.

LIN: All right, thank you very much, Bill. We'll be seeing you in just a bit.

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