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CNN Live Today

Arafat Still Confined to Compound

Aired April 30, 2002 - 12:07   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Let's move north from Bethlehem, about 16 miles to the north to the town of Ramallah. As we mentioned, Yasser Arafat still inside that compound. So, too, six Palestinians wanted by the Israelis.

Matthew Chance is in Ramallah by telephone to bring us up to date on what's happening at this hour.

Matthew, hello, good evening.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, thanks, Bill.

Just managed to get ourselves to a location just on one of the barricades that's been built by the Israeli security forces blockading Yasser Arafat's presidential compound here in Ramallah. It's curfew time here in Ramallah. It's 7:00 local time. It's just past that hour now. We've had special permission from the troops manning this barricade to stay here and bring this report to you.

In front of me there's a heavily armored tank. There's also an armored personnel carrier with a number of Israeli troops inside sealing off the entry point into Yasser Arafat's compound, which of course has been under a kind of siege like this since the end of March -- since March 28 with Yasser Arafat and perhaps as many as 400 people holed up inside, including 6 wanted Palestinians, 4 of whom have already been convicted by a Palestinian court of killing Israel's tourism minister. A lot of speculation -- a lot of anticipation, rather, about the possibility of in the next few hours, in the next few days even, if the worse comes to worse, of Yasser Arafat emerging from that compound after being holed up for so long.

The second round of meetings between Palestinian officials and security experts from Britain and the United States has already got underway. It's expected to resume later on this evening here in Ramallah where they'll be talking about the nuts and bolts arrangements of really making this last proposal to end the siege around Ramallah a reality.

From Israel's point of view, they're looking to ensure that no kind of revolving door situation emerges here whereby when these troops are ordered to leave, the six Palestinians are allowed simply, you know, walk free.

From the Palestinian point of view, they also have their concerns. They want guarantees from the U.S. and British team that once responsibility for these prisoners is handed over to that team (ph), they're not going to find their way into the hands of the Israeli authorities.

So a lot -- a lot is still to talk about on this -- on these meetings tonight. But if we anticipate correctly, and this is the word here on the street and unofficially from Palestinian officials, if things -- if things do go ahead, we could be seeing Yasser Arafat emerge, as I say, for the first time from his compound at least since the end of March -- Bill.

HEMMER: Matthew, try and clarify this matter, is it Israel's position that Yasser Arafat is free to move at this point right now but the Palestinians are saying hang on, we're not going to move because we're afraid Israeli forces will storm the compound and take the six men they've been looking for? Is that the flow of logic that you're hearing there in Ramallah?

CHANCE: Well I mean certainly that appears to be the case if you listen to what the Israeli officials have been saying. I heard Shimon Peres say it just yesterday.

The situation here, though, is that there are a large number of Israeli security forces still sealing off the entry point to Yasser Arafat's compound. Now I don't think it's realistic from our point of view standing here that anyone in that compound is going to be allowed out at this stage. Certainly they haven't been coming out. We assume that's because they didn't feel it was safe for them -- for themselves to come out into the street. Certainly we're not being allowed into that compound so we can't get it from the Palestinians directly at this stage why they're staying in.

But I mean certainly the situation is still very tense around here. Every night since I've been here there have been quite intensive volleys of machine gun rounds flying from the Israeli forces and some shots also being fired from Palestinians here in Ramallah. So the situation is very tense, and I expect it will be until the security forces leave.

HEMMER: All right, Matthew, thanks.

Matthew Chance by telephone there in Ramallah, again, watching that compound, Yasser Arafat and what Israel claims are six wanted terrorists inside. Certainly a situation that remains tense. We'll track it as it continues.

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