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CNN Live At Daybreak

Palestinians and Israelis Sign Up to U.S. Proposal to Bring End to Siege of Arafat's Compound

Aired April 29, 2002 - 06:31   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 COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now, for more on that plan to end Israel's siege of Yasser Arafat's compound, we go live to CNN's Matthew Chance in Ramallah -- good morning, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And what we do know, of course, as you mentioned there, is that both the Palestinian and the Israeli leaderships have signed up to that U.S. proposal to effectively bring to an end the siege around Yasser Arafat's compound.

What we are not sure about at this state is the nuts and bolts of how that's going to work on the ground, what extent their mandate will be, and indeed, what shape the U.S. or British team will eventually take to try and shed some light on all of those questions.

I am joined here by Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Palestinian information minister. Mr. Rabbo, thanks very much for giving us some of your time.

YASSER ABED RABBO, PALESTINIAN CABINET MINISTER: Thank you.

CHANCE: What information do you have at this stage about whether this meeting is going to take place here or when?

RABBO: Well, we expect that the team of experts, the American and British, will come here today in the afternoon. And they will discuss with a team of our experts the technical issues related to the location of the prison and the guarantees for the safety of the prison, because in the past, most, if not all, of our prisons were attacked by Israeli planes. And many prisoners, as well as police officers, were killed in these attacks.

So we are really interested in the safety of the prison and the guarantees that the United States and Britain will give to this effect.

CHANCE: What specific guarantees are you looking for? Are we talking about the question of location, the question of what shape this U.S.-British team might take?

RABBO: No, it doesn't matter in fact. I mean, the location we are suggesting two places, one in Jericho; another one in Gaza. And it's a matter of technical issues. But we want the safety, the safety of the prison, because now after we had made an agreement with the American and the British sides to accept this proposal today, earlier in the morning. The Israeli occupation forces had attacked Hebron. And now -- until now, 12 people were killed between Hebron and Bethlehem.

CHANCE: Let's try and get some more specific, because I believe we haven't got much time, about how this mandated team is going to look. Are we looking for a military force here or a civilian one? What's your preference?

RABBO: Whether they are military or civilian, it doesn't matter. We want them to monitor and to guarantee the safety. So there will be a monitoring for 24 hours, that's good for us, and to guarantee the safety also for 24 hours of the people who will be put in that place.

CHANCE: All right. Yasser Abed Rabbo, thank you very much. We have to wind it up there. We are running out of time. But thank you very much for your time.

RABBO: Thank you.

CHANCE: There you have it, Carol, from Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Palestinian information minister. Obviously we'll be watching the situation as it emerges here in Ramallah in the West Bank -- for the moment though, it's back to you.

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you -- Matthew Chance reporting live for us.

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