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CNN Live At Daybreak
Cleanup Has Begun Around Arafat's Compound
Aired September 30, 2002 - 05:30 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: Turning to international news now, in the West Bank, cleanup has begun around Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah after Israeli forces pulled back from their 10 day siege of the complex.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is live in Ramallah with more -- Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Carol.
Well, the Palestinian leader this morning is basking in a glow of victory following the departure by Israeli forces from his compound yesterday. Mr. Arafat, in fact, has a very full schedule of meetings with diplomats, including the special envoys from the United Nations and the European Union, underscoring, in the words of Palestinian officials, that Mr. Arafat is not irrelevant, as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said in the past.
Now, shortly after Israel lifted the siege yesterday, Mr. Arafat called upon Palestinian groups to observe a cease-fire with Israel. He also called upon Israel to stop its military activities or operations against the Palestinians.
Now, today an attempt is under way at the compound to clean up the mess there. Razor wire is being cleared away. The rubble shifted around. There's a general cleanup operation. But given the extensive damage and destruction to every building within the compound, they may just have to rip it all down and start from scratch.
Now, just to remind you, Israel slapped this siege on the compound of Mr. Arafat just a little less than two weeks ago, following the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. The Israelis said they wanted the Palestinians to surrender. As many as 50 individuals, they said, were involved in terrorist activities against Israel. The Palestinians refused and under intense American pressure, the Israelis pulled out.
Now, Israel yesterday said it was just going to move its forces outside the perimeter in order to monitor the, all those leaving the compound so they could, in theory catch those suspected terrorists. However, it doesn't seem like that's been possible. Israeli Army sources saying it simply wasn't practical given the huge crowds that came down to the compound yesterday.
Now, we drove around this morning to see if there were any Israelis in the area. We didn't find any. In fact, they apparently departed one of those buildings behind me at 6:00 this morning. Now, Carol, the siege has been harshly criticized within many quarters in Israel itself. Many people, many editorialists saying that it was poorly conceived, poorly planned and poorly executed. One newspaper describing it as a colossal failure -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, Ben Wedeman reporting live from Israel this morning.
Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 30, 2002 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Turning to international news now, in the West Bank, cleanup has begun around Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah after Israeli forces pulled back from their 10 day siege of the complex.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is live in Ramallah with more -- Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Carol.
Well, the Palestinian leader this morning is basking in a glow of victory following the departure by Israeli forces from his compound yesterday. Mr. Arafat, in fact, has a very full schedule of meetings with diplomats, including the special envoys from the United Nations and the European Union, underscoring, in the words of Palestinian officials, that Mr. Arafat is not irrelevant, as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said in the past.
Now, shortly after Israel lifted the siege yesterday, Mr. Arafat called upon Palestinian groups to observe a cease-fire with Israel. He also called upon Israel to stop its military activities or operations against the Palestinians.
Now, today an attempt is under way at the compound to clean up the mess there. Razor wire is being cleared away. The rubble shifted around. There's a general cleanup operation. But given the extensive damage and destruction to every building within the compound, they may just have to rip it all down and start from scratch.
Now, just to remind you, Israel slapped this siege on the compound of Mr. Arafat just a little less than two weeks ago, following the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. The Israelis said they wanted the Palestinians to surrender. As many as 50 individuals, they said, were involved in terrorist activities against Israel. The Palestinians refused and under intense American pressure, the Israelis pulled out.
Now, Israel yesterday said it was just going to move its forces outside the perimeter in order to monitor the, all those leaving the compound so they could, in theory catch those suspected terrorists. However, it doesn't seem like that's been possible. Israeli Army sources saying it simply wasn't practical given the huge crowds that came down to the compound yesterday.
Now, we drove around this morning to see if there were any Israelis in the area. We didn't find any. In fact, they apparently departed one of those buildings behind me at 6:00 this morning. Now, Carol, the siege has been harshly criticized within many quarters in Israel itself. Many people, many editorialists saying that it was poorly conceived, poorly planned and poorly executed. One newspaper describing it as a colossal failure -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, Ben Wedeman reporting live from Israel this morning.
Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
