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Israeli and Palestinian Negotiators Discuss Deadly Standoff at Church of the Nativity

Aired April 23, 2002 - 10:21   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, elsewhere in that embattled region, there is a glimmer of hope. For the first time in two weeks, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met to discuss the deadly standoff at the Church of the Nativity.

For the latest, let's go to our John Vause who joins us from Bethlehem -- John, hello.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, Daryn. Those negotiators are having a bit of a break right now. They met earlier today. They met for a couple of hours, and they took a break. They are due to get back together in about 35 minutes from now.

But during the break, one of the negotiators from the Palestinian side did come out here. He had a few words with the media. He gave a very positive sign of what was happening inside that meeting between the Israelis and Palestinians, as well as an independent observer who is also there as well. He said there are a number of positive signs coming out of that meeting, and that is basically it.

Now, the Palestinians have put forward a proposal that those 30 Palestinian gunmen inside the church that the Israelis say they want, the Palestinians are now saying, well, look, send them to Gaza, and we will deal with them there. Gaza, of course, being Palestinian- controlled territory, and they will deal with the Palestinians there in their own way.

The Israelis for their part have offered in the past to try those 30 gunmen or terrorists, as Israelis call them, in Israel. Or they have a choice of being deported or exiled to a third country. The Palestinians in the past have rejected that. So far, the Israelis have not dismissed the Palestinian offer outright. So that's a positive sign.

As I said, they are due to get back together in about 35 minutes. That's when we should have some Israeli response to that Palestinian offer -- excuse me. But as far as anybody else inside that meeting, we have contacted some people close to the negotiators, which have been taking place, and they are giving us a mixed signal. They are saying they are not exactly optimistic that there will, in fact, be a positive outcome tonight, not even tomorrow. In fact, CNN has learned that a number of the negotiators have actually booked themselves some accommodations in Bethlehem for a couple of days. So they are planning on staying in here for the long haul -- Daryn.

KAGAN: John, I find it very hard to believe that the Israelis would go for a deal where the Palestinians say, yes, hand them over to us, and we will take care of them in Gaza. I mean, that almost sounds like it has like a wink-wink aspect to it. That is what so much of these incursions were based on in the first place. The Israelis not satisfied with what the Palestinians were doing to go after terrorists.

VAUSE: Yes. It certainly does seem very odd to everyone who has been watching these developments for quite some time that Israelis would simply let them take these men to Gaza. So now, we are waiting for the Israeli response. As I said, the positive sign was the fact that the Israelis did not say no straightaway. And now, we are waiting for their response in about 35 minutes.

Maybe they will come up with a counterproposal to that, some kind of middle ground in this standoff. But that response from the Israelis still a few minutes away and possibly a few hours way before we find out exactly where the Israelis stand on that.

But as you say, it certainly does not fit in with this entire incursion in the West Bank, which the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has said they mean to dismantle that terrorist network, because the accusation which the prime minister has leveled at Yasser Arafat is him not doing enough to try these men that the Israelis call terrorists and to dismantle this terrorist infrastructure.

But, you know, we are waiting to see what the Israelis have to say. That's about 35 minutes away. We should hear in a couple of hours.

KAGAN: All right. Good reason to check back with you. John Vause in Bethlehem -- John, thank you so much.

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