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CNN Live At Daybreak

Israeli Troops Move Into Nablus

Aired August 02, 2002 - 07:02   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Troops are on the move, Israeli forces heading into a West Bank town they say is full of terrorists, the largest incursion in more than a month.

Our bureau chief there in Jerusalem, Mike Hanna, tracking that story with the latest there.

Mike -- hello.

MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Hello there, Bill.

Well, the IDF says the operation is called "maybe this time," and it's a very big operation indeed.

Israeli infantry backed by tanks, Apache helicopters, have moved into the Old City section of the West Bank city of Nablus, known as the Kasba (ph).

Now, Israeli forces had reoccupied a number of Palestinian towns and cities over recent weeks, but they had not gone through into the old section of Nablus, an area which the IDF says has been a center of planning and carrying out terror attacks against Israeli civilian targets.

The Israeli Defense Force says it has come under fire in these operations. A Palestinian Red Crescent says at least four Palestinians have been killed in this operation in the course of the morning.

Indications from an Israeli commander said this operation could take a number of days. It certainly is a stepping-up of Israeli military operations in the West Bank. As it says, it is continuing to root out nests of those planning terror attacks against Israeli civilian targets.

At the same time, we understand Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he is prepared to meet two senior Palestinian ministers over the next week. These are the newly-appointed ministers of the Interior and of Finance. A spokesman for the prime minister saying that such a meeting will happen if the security situation allows -- Bill.

HEMMER: Mike Hanna in Jerusalem, thank you.

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