Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Different Groups Claim Israeli Market Bombing

Aired May 20, 2002 - 06:33   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: In northern Israel today, a suicide bomber set off his explosives when he was approached by police. The incident follows another suicide bombing in Netyana. Our Anand Naidoo is in Netyana with more on the aftermath of the bombing -- good morning.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I am at that fruit and vegetable market that you are talking about in the northern Israeli town of Netyana. It's lunchtime here. This market is crowded with shoppers. Traders have reopened their stores and are doing a brisk trade. It's difficult to imagine that there was an explosion here less than 24 hours ago, which claimed the lives of four people. That's of course the suicide bomber was killed, three Israelis were killed, 56 people were injured, 11 of them seriously.

Now, I am standing in the exact spot where that suicide bomber detonated his explosives. And on either side of me -- I'm going to step aside so you can get a better look at this -- on either side of me are the stores that bore the brunt of the attack. If you look to your left over there, the ceiling has caved in.

Most of these stores here have been cleaned. There were rescue crews and emergency crews and cleanup crews here very, very quickly after that bomb blast. The Israelis have become experts at that. It's a dubious distinction, but they have become experts at that. And most of this place has to all intents and purposes been sanitized.

There is a sign that someone has hung up there, which I had translated for me, and I understand that it says look up to God -- or "Look up to our Father in heaven."

The ceiling that's caved in over there, someone has lit a candle, which is lying on that bar just across the store over there.

Now, there have been rival claims as to who was responsible for this explosion. Shortly after the explosion, the French news agency, Agence France Presse, received a call from an anonymous saying that Hamas, the militant Palestinian organization, was responsible for the explosion.

But later, the PFLP, which is a Palestinian organization, a Marxist organization, which is based on the Syrian capital of Damascus, sent a fax to the Reuters News Agency claiming that they were responsible for the explosion. And they said that that explosion was a warning to Yasser Arafat. They say that Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority is holding one of their leaders, Ahmad Saadat, prisoner in the West Bank. And it was a warning to Yasser Arafat to release that leader.

Now, police have told us this morning that they received more warnings of impending attacks here, and in respect of those warnings, they have heightened security here at the market and in the surrounding areas. In fact, just off the left of me is the entrance to this market heavily armed Israeli soldiers guarding that entrance, watching everyone who is coming in. And there are soldiers and police who are patrolling these alleyways, these narrow alleyways in the market constantly -- Carol.

COSTELLO: A question for you. You said this group, one of the groups claiming responsibility did this as a warning to Yasser Arafat. That's a strange twist.

NAIDOO: Well, it's a rival Palestinian group that is based in Damascus, so they are rivals to Yasser Arafat. And this is the kind of extremist radical group, a group that called for the obliteration of Israel. So they are not in any way supporters of a position of negotiations with the Israelis to resolve the problem over here. They believe that Israel should be obliterated, and to that end, they are actually rivals with Yasser Arafat.

So in that respect, it is a little bit strange, but Yasser Arafat has taken action against some of the more radical members of that group. And they are now saying that those members who have been imprisoned by Yasser Arafat must be released.

COSTELLO: Life from Netyana -- Anand Naidoo, thank you very much for that report.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.