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CNN Live At Daybreak

Israeli Soldiers Clash Today With What They Say Was Terrorist Cell

Aired July 22, 2002 - 05:29   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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And in the Middle East, Israeli soldiers clashed today with what they say was a terrorist cell near a Jewish settlement in Gaza. One Palestinian is believed dead. Two Israeli soldiers were injured. The incident comes after a bomb injured the engineer of a rush hour train yesterday.

We're going to get more on the fallout from all of this. Our Chris Burns is in Jerusalem -- Chris?

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, good morning.

Yes, it does appear that the Israeli forces managed to foil what appears to be an attack by Islamic militants against the settlement of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip. That happened before dawn this morning. The Israeli, an Israeli patrol opened fire on what they believed were armed Palestinians.

The Islamic Jihad group acknowledges that at least one of its fighters was killed in that clash and two Israeli soldiers, as you say, slightly injured. They remain, they've been hospitalized from that clash -- Anderson.

COOPER: Over the weekend there was some talk of moving some, the relatives of militants from the West Bank to Gaza. What is the latest on those talks?

BURNS: Well, it appears that at least 16 of those relatives -- these are male relatives of two militants who are linked by the Israelis to the two attacks last week that killed about a dozen, that killed a dozen citizens here in Israel and also in the, on the West Bank. Those arrests of those male relatives were aimed at sending them off to Gaza. It's called, they call it here deportation, but it's really moving them from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip as a punishment.

However, the Israeli government is backing off on that and this group, at least 16 of the detainees say that they will not continue to pursue any legal action against the Israeli government as long as they have the guarantee that they can appeal any decision by the Israeli government to deport them. And it does appear that the Israeli government is backing off on that. The attorney general is saying that only if they can establish a direct link to any terror attacks, as they say, then they would try to move them to the Gaza Strip. So it does appear that the Israelis are backing off on this as well as the Palestinian detainees -- Anderson.

COOPER: And, Chris, I also understand there are some high level talks going on between Palestinians and Israelis. Any details emerging on what's being discussed, what's coming out of those talks?

BURNS: Well, it does appear, Anderson, that there is progress, even though the both sides were extremely guarded about that when they, when the talks happened two days ago. But details are coming out from that and there is what is being called, at least by one Israeli newspaper, as the Yahya plan. Mr. Yahya is the new interior minister on the Palestinian Authority side who proposes that the Palestinian Authority take full control of areas that the Israelis do pull out of.

Now, keep in mind there is this operation Determined Path. The Israelis have moved in to seven of the eight main cities on the West Bank to regain control after there were a spate of, a series of suicide attacks that killed more than two dozen Israelis on, in June.

And so this is aimed at trying to ease the tensions by the Israelis pulling out and the Palestinians moving in. And this could, this appears to be that there's some progress on that. Shimon Peres, the foreign minister on the Israeli side, saying that they are willing to pull out of, perhaps, Bethlehem and Hebron as a test to see if the Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority can retake control of those areas and prevent any further suicide attacks -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Chris, thanks very much for joining us from Jerusalem this morning.

Chris Burns.

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