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CNN Live At Daybreak

Israeli Gunships Strike at Suspected Weapons Factory in Gaza City

Aired August 06, 2002 - 05:31   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: Let's turn now to the turmoil of the Middle East. Israeli gunships have struck at a suspected weapons factory in Gaza City.

Jerrold Kessel is in Jerusalem with details on that and much more -- good morning, Jerrold.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

And it has been a turbulent week, indeed, after that bloody Sunday with a series of attacks and stringent Israeli counter measures and Israel now going on the attack in a number of locations. This morning, just a couple of hours ago, helicopter gunships attacked two Palestinians in a field outside the village of Jabaay on the West Bank, killing them from the helicopter gunship, we understand and -- as they were heading back to a cave from which they had, where they had apparently been hiding as fugitives from the Israelis.

The Israelis say one of the men was a long wanted -- wanted not their most wanted list, a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Both men were killed instantly, say Palestinian Red Crescent officials.

But down in Gaza last night, helicopter gunships, Israeli helicopter gunships in action there, too, firing a number of missiles into a suburb of Gaza City. The target, said Israel, was a workshop, a munitions factory, say the Israelis, where homemade weaponry was being manufactured. A number of Palestinians in the vicinity were wounded, but none of them seriously in this missile strike, say Palestinian Red Crescent officials.

Now, these latest Israeli attacks have come as Israel remains bracing for the possibility that Palestinian militants, Hamas, Islamic group Hamas might strike again. Yesterday there was another explosion in northern Israel in a car. And apparently the would be suicide bomber had what Israelis describe as a work accident, the premature explosion of the explosives on his body.

He himself was killed. A man, an Israeli Arab man who was driving but apparently had been hijacked in his car to take him to -- the bomber to his would be target in an Israeli city was wounded in that attack. The Israeli police say the Israeli Arab driver had nothing to do with the man, the Palestinian militant who was about to mount that attack. Also near Jerusalem, the Israelis say they thwarted another would-be Palestinian suicide bombing when two belts, explosive belts were found on a road in the West Bank just outside Jerusalem. They were, the Israelis believe, to be picked up by a would-be suicide bomber.

Now, despite this ongoing violence in the two directions, there was an interesting development late last night with a high level meeting, one of the most high level meetings held by security officials. Israel's defense minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, meeting with a phalanx of three top Palestinian security officials, including the new interior minister, General Yehiyeh. And after that we have heard reports that the talks were at least a degree of, there was a degree of constructive exchange in those talks.

And this is what we heard from an Israeli official this morning about those talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK SOFER, FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: The fight against this type of terrorism that we've seen over the past few days has to include some sort of dialogue between the two sides and in the region. It has to include economic inducement and it has to include a military component, too, otherwise we won't be able to work against this.

At the moment, we're doing it by ourselves because we don't have a Palestinian counterpart ready to work against terrorism within its own society. It's crucial that the Palestinians realize that the terrorism that's emanating from the population there is causing as much damage to the society, almost as much as it is to us. And this is part and parcel of what we are trying to achieve in the talks with them.

NABIL ABU RUDEINEH, SENIOR ARAFAT AIDE: The meeting yesterday was a new start and the coming days will be the test of whether the Israeli government is serious enough to start withdrawing from the Palestinian cities in order to give a push to the, all the efforts in order to find a solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KESSEL: And it's interesting, the Israelis are saying also this morning that the next few days will be a test of whether the Palestinians start to act against the would be terrorist strikes and that could mean further talks and perhaps an end to the ongoing violence in the two directions, if they start working together.

Both sides expressing a degree, a rare degree of optimism this morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, we hope they're right. We hope there is some sense of optimism somewhere in this situation.

Thank you.

Jerrold Kessel reporting live from Jerusalem this morning.

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