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CNN Live Today

Palestinians and Israelis Reacting to Bus Bombing

Aired June 05, 2002 - 10:07   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we turn now to the crisis in the Middle East. At least 17 people are dead, more than three dozen injured after an apparent suicide bombing. Police say that an explosives-ladened car pulled alongside a bus and then detonated.

Our Jerrold Kessel has the latest from the scene of the explosion. It is near the town of Megiddo Junction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All that remained of bus Number 830 and this, the remains of the bomb-ladened car containing dozens of pounds of explosives which blew up right alongside the bus and when it approached this major road junction in Galilee. The bus had on board many soldiers heading back to their bases in northern Israel. The bus caught fire, and the circumstances made it difficult to determine immediately the exact number of dead.

SAMUEL SHIMSHONI (ph): I've never seen a bus burn as badly as this. And the -- a lot of the body parts are actually burned beyond being able to tell that they're actually body parts without very, very close examination.

KESSEL: Among the wounded, many in critical and serious condition.

The bus did a couple of somersaults before finally coming to a stop and then catching fire at the side of the road right alongside a military prison where many Palestinians suspected by Israel of being involved in terror activities are being held.

This area just north of Israel's border with the West Bank has seen several previous Palestinian attacks. The first impression was that it was another suicide bomber inside the bus, but the size of the blast and the method of the attack soon made it apparent that this was something different. Less than 24 hours earlier, Israel's military intelligence chief had been warning that Palestinian militant groups were seeking to carry out what he called a mega-terror attack or a series of major attacks. A spokesman of Palestinian groups said that so long as Israel continues its attack on Palestinians what they call such counterstrikes can be expected to continue.

Perhaps also different this time, the Israeli response. The Israeli political and security leadership has been engaged in a vigorous argument about how best to contain the bombers. Some commanders calling for a semi-permanent Israeli presence in some Palestinian towns. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, at least until now, arguing that the tactics of recent weeks that tight military containment of Palestinian towns and regular offenses by the Israeli army into Palestinian towns should continue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KESSEL: And that argument continues to rage even as Israel lacks (ph). Some Israeli tanks have gone into nearby Jenin where we're standing here from this cross-point is just about five, six miles to the outskirts of the Palestinian town in the West Bank. Some Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers did go in there, but the Israelis say this is part of their regular preemptive incursions, not deliberately or necessarily directly linked to today's bombing. We could be expecting some different kind of Israeli action. We could hear of that after another meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet later today.

But from the Palestinian side, already there has been some kind of reaction. Islamic Jihad, the radical Islamic group, claimed responsibility. The Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat condemned it. And within the last hour, word from Palestinian security sources that Mr. Arafat had ordered his security chiefs to arrest those members of Islamic Jihad who were responsible for today's car bombing here at this intersection.

Back to you for now, Daryn.

KAGAN: Thank you very much.

Jerrold Kessel reporting to us from Israel.

For the latest on today's attacks plus all the news from the Middle East, you can check out our Web site. That address is CNN.com. AOL keyword is CNN.

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