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CNN Live At Daybreak
Israel Vows Sustained Crackdown on Hamas
Aired June 13, 2003 - 06:02 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A message to Israel from Hamas: Every man, woman and child is a target. The Israeli response: We will forcefully target you.
Live to Jerusalem now and Jerrold Kessel.
And, Jerrold, it seems the cycle of violence will continue.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol. More than that, it seems as if it's bound to perfect weather here, but that's just about all this morning.
And we've just heard in the last few minutes of another shooting attack on the West Bank. Two Israeli women have been shot, one in very serious condition, the other is described being in serious condition. Unknown assailants, not clear exactly what happened. They were driving in the West Bank near one of the Jewish settlements north of the West Bank town of Ramallah. We'll get you details as they keep coming in.
But we have confirmed from Israeli medical relief services that two women have been seriously hurt in that shooting attack on the West Bank.
And the Israeli and Palestinian people are really focusing in on their anger and their pain after this round of welter of violence that they've been engulfed in over the last several days. And because these are such tightly-knit societies, both of them, you find just about everybody knows just about everybody -- somebody who has been affected in the various attacks.
Just let me give you a personal example. This is the newspaper, one of the leading Israeli newspapers, the front page of one of the leading Israeli newspapers this morning, but just about every newspaper has this, the pictures of all of the 17 people who were killed in that bus bombing here the day before last. And just when I was in the neighborhood store, a corner store where I buy my newspaper every morning, the man there said, "Look at these two women," and he pointed out two of the women. One was the store owner next door of a small shoe shop, but she had been killed, as well as another woman who regularly came to buy her paper every morning in the stop -- in the shop. That just says something about the closeness of the society.
Funerals are being held here in Jerusalem today for many of those people; down in Gaza, too, funerals for the people who were killed in that latest Israeli airstrike. They targeted, the Israeli helicopters, a leading Hamas man, and he was killed, but along with him, both his wife and his infant daughter and four other Palestinians. Those funerals happening today.
The Israeli army says it was an intelligence error. They didn't know the family was in the car with the top Hamas operative, and they expressed regret for that.
Hamas is saying, as you rightly say, that it is now targeting every single Israeli man, woman and child, and will mount a coordinated campaign, bombing campaign.
Israel also pulling no punches in its verbal statements, apart from the attacks, and saying it will go on targeting Hamas leaders -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Jerrold Kessel live from Jerusalem, many thanks.
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 June 13, 2003 - 06:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A message to Israel from Hamas: Every man, woman and child is a target. The Israeli response: We will forcefully target you.
Live to Jerusalem now and Jerrold Kessel.
And, Jerrold, it seems the cycle of violence will continue.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol. More than that, it seems as if it's bound to perfect weather here, but that's just about all this morning.
And we've just heard in the last few minutes of another shooting attack on the West Bank. Two Israeli women have been shot, one in very serious condition, the other is described being in serious condition. Unknown assailants, not clear exactly what happened. They were driving in the West Bank near one of the Jewish settlements north of the West Bank town of Ramallah. We'll get you details as they keep coming in.
But we have confirmed from Israeli medical relief services that two women have been seriously hurt in that shooting attack on the West Bank.
And the Israeli and Palestinian people are really focusing in on their anger and their pain after this round of welter of violence that they've been engulfed in over the last several days. And because these are such tightly-knit societies, both of them, you find just about everybody knows just about everybody -- somebody who has been affected in the various attacks.
Just let me give you a personal example. This is the newspaper, one of the leading Israeli newspapers, the front page of one of the leading Israeli newspapers this morning, but just about every newspaper has this, the pictures of all of the 17 people who were killed in that bus bombing here the day before last. And just when I was in the neighborhood store, a corner store where I buy my newspaper every morning, the man there said, "Look at these two women," and he pointed out two of the women. One was the store owner next door of a small shoe shop, but she had been killed, as well as another woman who regularly came to buy her paper every morning in the stop -- in the shop. That just says something about the closeness of the society.
Funerals are being held here in Jerusalem today for many of those people; down in Gaza, too, funerals for the people who were killed in that latest Israeli airstrike. They targeted, the Israeli helicopters, a leading Hamas man, and he was killed, but along with him, both his wife and his infant daughter and four other Palestinians. Those funerals happening today.
The Israeli army says it was an intelligence error. They didn't know the family was in the car with the top Hamas operative, and they expressed regret for that.
Hamas is saying, as you rightly say, that it is now targeting every single Israeli man, woman and child, and will mount a coordinated campaign, bombing campaign.
Israel also pulling no punches in its verbal statements, apart from the attacks, and saying it will go on targeting Hamas leaders -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Jerrold Kessel live from Jerusalem, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
