Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Israeli Troops Go Door to Door through Refugee Camps

Aired July 01, 2002 - 06:26   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: Most Americans can't imagine what it would be like for our homes to be invaded by soldiers and all the men rounded up. But for many Palestinians, that's life.

Our Martin Savidge gives us a rare look at an Israeli sweep in a West Bank refugee camp.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are images those outside the West Bank seldom see, Israeli soldiers sweeping into the Am'ari refugee camp in an operation that began Sunday morning. Working in teams, they move through the narrow, twisting back alleys and streets, going house to house. The mission is backed up by tanks and armed personnel carriers positioned on roads overlooking the camp.

The Israeli forces are searching for weapons, ammunition and suspects wanted after a recent wave of terrorist attacks that left dozens of Israeli civilians dead and much of the West Bank under a 24- hour curfew. Once inside this house, the soldiers split up. Some guard the entrance and ground floor while others work to do the same upstairs.

They question a woman about the whereabouts of her son. She tells them he was taken away by other soldiers this morning.

The search turns up women and children and upstairs, an old man. The children look on as the soldiers continue their work. One tells them to sit. They comply. Then, sensing their awkwardness, he tells them they can sit in the other room. When they're finally done with their inspection and their questions, the soldiers move on to another home. As they leave, one marks the house with spray paint so that those who follow know it's been cleared.

At times we saw young Palestinian men in the company of the Israeli soldiers. We watched as one, his hands bound behind his back, was led into a nearby building.

This man says the soldiers took him, as well, that he and the others were used as a human shield.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They used me as a shelter, a human shelter, because they told me that to go in front of them to the house, checking the house, and if there's nothing, it's empty, it's evacuated, then I call them to let them come in.

SAVIDGE: He says he went with the soldiers into 30 homes. They found nothing.

The Israeli Army denies the use of human shields, saying -- quote -- "The people are used as guides for informational purposes" -- unquote.

(on camera): The people who live here say that at around 6:00 this morning, soldiers came into the refugee camp and began announcing on a loudspeaker for all the men between the ages of 15 and 55 to come out. They then say that they were taken away. That could explain why now you find mostly women and children only in the streets.

(voice-over): We try to go to the school where the men have been taken. At first, a soldier points his gun at us and shouts for us to go away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please go away.

SAVIDGE: Eventually, others let us through. But at the school yard, we're stopped again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't, because we, the situation is changed around here.

SAVIDGE: We're not allowed to shoot what we can see with our own eyes, more than 100 men divided into three groups sitting in a school yard guarded by Israeli soldiers. We try to find a different route to see the detainees and run into another obstacle, an Israeli tank.

Back in the refugee camp, after the soldiers have left, I ask the old man what he thinks of what he saw. His answer is simple. "What can we do," he says. "They have all the power."

Martin Savidge, CNN, Ramallah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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