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CNN Live Today
Israeli Forces Give Ground to Some Places, Take Ground in Others, and Lose 13 Soldiers
Aired April 09, 2002 - 13:23 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour in the Middle East, where Israeli forces gave ground today to some places, took ground in others, and lost 13 soldiers in still another. Israeli prime minister says it was difficult day.
CNN's John Vause brings us all the day's news from Jerusalem.
Hello, again, John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi again, Kyra.
I want to give you more information which we are learning here about that -- the death of those 13 soldiers in the refugee camp of Jenin. What we're being told now by a spokesman from the Israeli Defense Force. He says that those reservists soldiers were on patrol, patrolling the narrow alleyways of that refugee camp when a suicide bomber set off a blast. That then sort of a chain reaction and a number of explosives which were in buildings, which had been booby- trapped. Those reservists came under heavy gunfire from Palestinians who were on the rooftops of nearby buildings, that according to the Israeli side of things, according to Palestinians.
They say, in fact, that the Israelis mistakenly set off these explosives, not knowing that their men were in fact in that area.
So, much confusion still on the ground in Jenin, very difficult to find out exactly what in fact is going on there, because it is still declared a military zone, an ongoing operation, still off limits to the media. What we do know, in fact, is that there is a group of Palestinian gunmen who are still in the eastern part of the camp. They are reportedly ready to fight to the death.
What we also know is that at least 150 people, Palestinians, have been killed in this operation. That estimate is given to us from a variety of sources, from the Israeli media, from the Israelis, and also from the Palestinians. Once again, very difficult to ascertain exactly what is happening in Jenin refugee camp, because it is closed to the media.
And we say that -- we are told by the prime minister that this Operation Defense Shield will continue, and it has. The Israeli forces moving into the small town of Dura (ph). The tanks, and armor and the troops moved in in the early hours of this morning, with helicopter gunships providing aerial cover. We are told by the IDF that the mission of the Israeli Defense Forces in this part of Palestinian territory is to apprehend suspects and seize weapons. It is in fact a familiar line which they have been using throughout this operation, and what they say is that that part of their mission has been concluded in two towns on the West Bank, Qalqilya and Tulkarem, and we saw tanks and the troops withdraw early this morning.
Once again, they pulled out, but they are not withdrawing completely. They are providing a buffer zone around that -- around those two towns.
We also have seen quite a bit of damage left behind by the Israeli forces who were in that town, homes and businesses badly damaged. Even though, by all accounts, the resistance put up there by Palestinians was relatively light. The damage left behind certainly doesn't seem to be in proportion with the response put up by the Palestinians. And, of course, that pullout coming as international pressure grows most notably from the United States President Mr. Bush on the Israelis to pull out from all the Israeli towns on the West Bank. They say part of that response is to pull out from those two towns of Tulkarem and Qalqilya.
But also, they say their mission there was wrapped up. We also know that their secretary of state will be here on Thursday. He repeated that call to the Israeli prime minister to pull out of those towns. He also said that he wants to meet with the leader, the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. A short time ago, Israelis said that would in fact happen.
OK, we are hoping for a bit of sound there. I think we had it. I'm not too sure. That meeting, though, is most likely to take place in the Palestinian leader's compound in Ramallah, where he is being holed up there for quite sometime. Do we have the soundbite?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIDEON MEIR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: Secretary of State Powell is welcome to Israel. He is a welcome guest here, and Israel will do everything possible to make his mission succeed in his mission here, and therefore we will facilitate every meeting he wishes to do here in the region.
VAUSE: To cut it short, will he meet with Yasser Arafat?
MEIR: If he wishes so, he will be meeting Yasser Arafat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Of course, there have been lots of speculation all day long. Would in fact the Israelis allow the secretary of state to meet with Yasser Arafat, the Israelis had in the past stopped a number of delegations. Looks like will happen. It will happen in Ramallah -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, our John Vause. Sorry about those technical difficulties, John, but we appreciate your report. President Bush's pointman in the Middle East, Secretary of State Colin Powell says he will meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat later this week, as John told us, as Powell tries to broker a cease- fire between Israelis and the Palestinians.
Major Garrett with the president joins us live with more on that possible get-together -- Major.
MAJOR GARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Kyra.
Before we get to those Powell developments, one little bit of news there from Bridgeport, Connecticut. The president just finishing up a fund-raising speech here, raising about a million dollars for the Connecticut Republican Party, talked directly about the threat posed by the Iraqi government to take its oil off the world markets supply. Administration officials have expressed skepticism as to whether or not that would cause any real volatility to oil prices worldwide, but the president hadn't until just now addressed it himself.
The president telling the Republicans gathered for fund-raiser, "The world is not going to follow him," specifically referring to Saddam Hussein and his efforts to try to build some sort of Arab boycott, withholding production, reducing supplies of oil on the worldwide market. The president saying that simply is not going to happen. Oil supplies, he said, will remain stable. He hopes certainly administration prices will as well.
As to Secretary of State Powell's visit to Cairo, Egypt, a couple important developments there as well. First, as you said, he will meet with Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, and he also committed the United States troops to be involved in a monitoring mission, to monitor whatever cease-fire is eventually negotiated, should there be one between Israelis and Palestinians. He made his remarks in Cairo, Egypt. Here is what the secretary of state said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECY. OF STATE: The United States is prepared to put observers, U.S. observers, monitors on the ground, that would help confidence-building, the restoring of trust between these two sides, get us back to where we were a few years ago, and we are prepared to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GARRETT: Kyra, this an important definitional difference here between monitors and peacekeepers. Peacekeepers try to establish peace. What monitors do is they keep track of an existing cease-fire. The U.S. committed to this before in a general term, but in the context of the crisis now in Middle East, it is a significant specific commitment from the United States to actually put U.S. personnel on the ground to monitor a cease-fire, but as the administration often says, we are a long way away from achieving a cease-fire.
This commitment of monitors is a part of the entire Tenet and Mitchell process, Tenet to obtain a cease-fire, Mitchell to have long term negotiations for a political settlement. A commitment has been made before, but as I said, in this current context, it is a significant U.S. commitment, to try to make that cease-fire, should it be achieved, one that can be long-lasting permanent -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Major, talk about monitoring, talk for a moment about security zones, Ariel Sharon says indeed, the pullout of these troops will happen, but security zones will be put in place, still yet no real definition about what that means. Are you hearing anything?
GARRETT: No, and the president today has said nothing, directly to the Israeli government about the pace of its withdrawal. Clearly, there are Israeli Defense Forces, activities ongoing in occupied territories. All that Ari Fleischer speaking for president would say today is that Israel needs to withdraw and withdraw now, but the president himself did not specifically refer to that, as he did yesterday, trying to step up the U.S. pressure on Israel.
And you have talked about these protective zones. That is going to be an issue that has to be dealt with even before you can get to a cease-fire, but the clearly. the Palestinians will say Israel has to withdraw entirely before we can have an implement able cease-fire, so we are just going to be dealing in increment by increment by increment.
First, there's going to be this issue of an Israeli withdrawal, what does it mean, far back does Israel withdraw its forces, and then there has to be talk of a cease-fire. And once that is worked out, then this whole issue of monitors, who is going to be in rather, what will their monitoring actually be about. All of these things part of the incrementalism of the Middle East. But as the administration now says, the fact that there is actually a process and there is talk, less violence, at least potential for less violence, there is limited progress -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: CNN's Major Garrett, traveling with the president, thank you.
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