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American Morning
Israeli Tactics in Bethlehem Have Unintended Consequences
Aired April 22, 2002 - 07:42 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to focus on the Middle East now. Israel pulled out of Nablus and parts of Ramallah on Sunday, declaring an end to the military's biggest ground operation in over two decades. But the standoff in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity continues.
It is now believed, according to Israeli officials, that among the nearly 200 people still inside are dozens are children. And just today, five Palestinian men were apprehended as they fled the church.
Israel is taking a deliberate and cautious approach to the standoff, but some of its tactics have had some unintended consequences. Here is CNN's John Vause.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE (voice-over): The blaring noise of Israeli psychological warfare from loud speakers suspended by a crane of Manger Square, the Israelis were hoping these grating noises, combined with calls for surrender, would wear down the Palestinians inside. They didn't crack, but less than half a mile away at the West Bank's largest mental hospital, the noise took its toll.
DR. TARFIQ SALMAN, PSYCHIATRIST: The effect is nightmares, sleep disturbances and behavioral disturbances, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), verbally and physically.
VAUSE: Two hundred patients are being treated at this hospital for everything from schizophrenia, depression and epilepsy. Cared for by a skeleton staff, because the curfew is stopping most of the doctors and nurses from getting to work.
The patients must now help themselves. And unless more food arrives, this will be their last meal. Virtually all that's left in the store room, two bags of rice, a few cans of tomatoes. And to make matters even worse, just as there is a need for more drugs, like tranquilizers and anti-depressants, there is a shortage because supplies can't make it from Ramallah.
(on camera): What happens when you run out?
SALMAN: It will have a disaster.
VAUSE (voice-over): They've tried to slow the disaster by giving out less medications, smaller doses to patients like Bilal Naszal, who is being treated for schizophrenia.
BILAL NASZAL, SCHIZOPHRENIA PATIENT: For example, today I take one tablet. Formerly I had seven or eight tablets. Today, I took only one tablet.
VAUSE (on camera): In recent days, the Israelis have stopped playing the loud music, the sirens and the calls for surrender. And doctors here say that has helped. What is not helping, they say, is the constant sound of gunfire and explosions which echo across this city every night.
SALMAN: We, as normal people, we are stressed now. You can imagine a mentally ill patient.
VAUSE (voice-over): Doctors here say the patients don't really understand what's going on, why they have to be locked away in their buildings for days at a time. Like everyone else in Bethlehem, they want to walk free. Even if that freedom is within the confinements of the grounds of this hospital.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And a short time ago, the Israelis lifted the curfew on Bethlehem, the first chance for more than 20,000 residents to come out and get some fresh air, some sunlight and to restock their cupboards with fresh fruit and bread and vegetables, that kind of thing. But even as these streets are crowded, Paula, there is still the sound of gunshots.
ZAHN: Now, John, explain to us what the status if on the negotiations to try to end this thing peacefully.
VAUSE: There is some news to report there. A short time ago, the assistant secretary of state met with Yasser Arafat at his compound in Ramallah. The sticking point of the negations had been a demand by the Palestinian leader for the presence of the clergy in any negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Israelis had balked at that.
So at this meeting between Mr. Burns and Mr. Arafat, Mr. Arafat relented on that demand, allowing a meeting to go ahead between the Israelis and the Palestinians, with the clergy waiting off to the side as consultants. So there is now the chance for those negations to begin either later today or possibly tomorrow -- Paula.
ZAHN: All right. John Vause, thank you very much for that report.
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