Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Hamas: Every Israeli a Target

Aired July 24, 2002 - 06:32   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 ANCHOR: Now to the Middle East, and fallout from an Israeli airstrike that left at least 14 civilians dead. One spokesman for the radical group, Hamas, says, every Israeli is a target in the aftermath of yesterday's attack in Gaza.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has defended the strike that killed the Hamas leader, while apologizing for the loss of civilian life. Still, he now says he wants the Israeli military to re-examine the attack.

We'll talk to the foreign minister, Shimon Peres, live in just a few minutes.

First, let's go to CNN's John Vause who is in Ramallah -- John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good afternoon, Anderson.

From Ramallah, as you just mentioned, those radical Palestinian groups are vowing revenge for that airstrike in Gaza, and as you said, declaring all Israeli citizens as targets.

Hamas going one step further as well, saying that -- quote -- "all Israeli children are also targets," so that they will know -- quote -- "how our children have suffered."

Now, there had, in fact, been some high-level negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians in the days before this airstrike. Those talks were mainly on how to ease conditions for many Palestinians in the territories, how to ease the curfew, how to get money back into these municipalities to provide basic services. Many had hoped that those negotiations would, in fact, lead to some kind of peace negotiations. But now, Hamas, for one, is saying, there is just no point talking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For this reason, I think it is wise for the Palestinians to stop negotiations, to stop meeting with the Israelis, to stop speaking about of this whole peace process, and to escalate a real effective -- real and effective resistance against Israel from the north of Palestine to the south of Palestine, from the Lebanese border to the Egyptian border, from the river to the sea. I think by this way, we are going to satisfy all of the Palestinian people, to satisfy all of the Arabic people, and to satisfy our demand that the existence of Israel as occupation is illegal. This legal existence should be eliminated by all means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Now, the Palestinian Authority chairman, Yasser Arafat, quickly called the airstrikes in Gaza, "a massacre." And now lawyers, both here in the Palestinian territories as well as overseas, are looking at taking this to the International War Crimes Court under Article 8. They have yet to decide who they will, in fact, name in that action, whether it's the chief of the army, the Israeli army, the IDF, or whether it's, in fact, the Israeli prime minister or the defense minister. And they will make their recommendations and then submit them to the Palestinian Authority -- Anderson.

COOPER: John, I just want to -- we showed a piece of yours earlier, I think, in the last hour. It was just an amazing piece, really a wonderful job you did last night under attack. What was it like being in that Israeli post as it was coming under attack?

VAUSE: Yes, initially it was pretty terrifying. When the bombs started going off, I didn't really know what was going on. Everyone was speaking Hebrew (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I don't speak Hebrew, so I had no idea where the attack was coming from, what the level of danger was. But we quickly worked out that it was a fairly intensive, a fairly sustained attack.

At one stage there, we thought we were going to have to abandon the building, because they thought that the wall would, in fact, collapse and the Palestinians would overrun that outpost.

The guys there impressed me incredibly, because they go through this almost every night. And looking at the politics aside of all of this conflict, they were incredibly cool and calm. They were very gracious towards us. They took care of us, basically, in that circumstance.

We wanted to go there to find out what the real war is like, what these people go through on a daily basis, and we do that, whether it be on the Palestinian side or on the Israeli side. That particular night, we were looking at it from the Israeli point of view. And just to be there when the bombs are going off and the building is shaking, it's a rush, it's an adrenaline rush, to be sure, but it's also pretty terrifying when you just don't know what's going to happen next.

COOPER: John, it was a great report. Thanks very much for joining us, and stay safe this morning -- thanks very much.

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