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CNN Live At Daybreak

Palestinians Accuse Israeli Forces of Killing Stone-Throwing Teenager, Injuring Others

Aired August 08, 2002 - 05:34   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: And now to the Middle East. Palestinians accuse Israeli forces of killing a stone throwing teenager and injuring others in Gaza today. The Israeli forces reinvaded northern Gaza for several hours.

Jerrold Kessel joins us now live from Jerusalem with more -- good morning.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

And just as Israeli and Palestinian security officials, top flight officials, were meeting to try to get a degree of cooperation on security going, again, with regard to first in Gaza, the Israeli forces have been on the offensive in Gaza again early, late last night and early into this morning.

For several hours tanks, for the second day running, went into the town of Beit Lahia. The Israelis saying that their action is to try to round up people who are terror suspects and take them in for questioning. But as the tanks moved in, they were met by some stone throwing youngsters and, indeed, an 18-year-old Palestinian has been confirmed as killed by the Israeli -- in the Israeli shooting. A number of others were wounded.

It's not clear whether the youth was himself throwing stones or was hit by a stray bullet in that area. The Israeli troops have since withdrawn. They have arrested a number of people there, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, one of the few politicians whom the Israelis have been taking in for questioning as they continue with their action to try to curb the latest wave of Palestinian attacks, including a string of suicide bombings.

On the West Bank, this has also taken the form, the Israeli offensive, of the blowing up of a number of houses, four all told. Today, that brings to 18 since the Israelis have resumed the policy of demolishing houses belonging either to suicide bombers or to those who dispatch them in this ongoing war of the bombers and Israel's effort to counter them.

These four houses that were destroyed, two in Bethlehem and other areas, involved those of suicide bombers or of their families or of their dispatchers, rather, in the West Bank. And all these actions undertaken as those talks took place last night and went on for four and a half hours and proved at this stage, at least, to be fruitless. The sticking point seems to be that Israel is insisting that first they involve the attitude of the Palestinian Authority and the security forces in Gaza. If it's proved that they're able to counter and to control the suicide bombers and other attackers coming out of there, then Israel says it will withdraw its forces to areas where they held before and withdraw from the positions they've taken up in the last several months and also ease the plight and restrictions on Palestinian civilians.

The Palestinians want this new deal to be applied at least to one other, to one town in the West Bank, as well, in the first instance. That seems to be the sticking point, but there will be more talks at the beginning of next week, both sides confirm, despite the Palestinians accusing the Israelis of bringing about a failure of the talks at this stage, Israel saying the Palestinians must move in Gaza first before there can be movement in the West Bank, as well -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Understood.

Thank you.

Jerrold Kessel reporting live for us from Jerusalem this morning.

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