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Yasser Arafat Could be Walking Out of Ramallah Headquarters as Early as Today
Aired May 01, 2002 - 11:03 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yasser Arafat could be walking out of his Ramallah headquarters as early as today. The U.S. and British have apparently finalized a deal now to end the standoff there. This deal centers on six men that Israel says are criminals, and they're holed up in that compound with Yasser Arafat.
Our Matthew Chance is on the scene of Ramallah, as he been all day. Let's check in now with him live.
Hello, Matthew. What's the word? .
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Leon, let's remember that not just Israel considering them criminals. Let's remember that four of those Palestinians wanted by Israel have already been convicted in a Palestinian makeshift court last week of killing the Israeli tourism minister in October, sort of an agreement on that issue, at least for the four of them.
There is confirmation that a deal has been done, both from the Israeli side and the Palestinian side, to transfer those six-wanted men from the custody of the Palestinian Authority, where they're holed up now, next to Yasser Arafat, over into international custody under the jurisdiction of those -- of the U.S. and British experts taking to Palestinian security and held in the West Bank down of Jericho.
Let's me just give you briefly a lay of the land, a description here. Over in the distance, a few hundred yards from where I stand, Yasser Arafat's besieged compound. Pan across the car park and take a look at the building where we believe Yasser Arafat is actually holed up. A lot of bullet holes around the window evidence of previous clashes with the Israeli security forces.
What we anticipate is that when these men are finally handed over to the jurisdiction of the British security experts, they will come out of the compound, make their way down the road, take a right turn towards where we are standing and drive on through to Jericho, where they will be placed on international guard in that Palestinian prison.
So Leon, we will be in good position to bring you those developments when they develop.
HARRIS: And, Matthew, since we don't a have camera situated right now there in Jericho, can you give us an idea, or do you know even, what kind of facility we're talking about there in Jericho, what size it is, and who controls it right now?
CHANCE: Yes, I haven't visited it myself. What I do know, though, is that it's a prison complex that was initially built by the British back in the 1930s when the area of Palestine was under their mandate of control. So it's an old facility.
Palestinian officials told us they proposed two options: this option, Jericho. Another option in the Gaza Strip. One of the problems they're faced with of course over the months of Israeli strikes against Palestinian Authority, the facilities. One of the things that has really been targeted by the Israeli tanks, the Israeli warplanes, the Palestinian police installations, and the jails alongside.
KAGAN: So there's options on where these people would be interred under international guard. They wanted it to be on Palestinian territory. Their options have been limited, Leon.
HARRIS: Very good. Matthew Chance reporting live for us.
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