Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Crisis in the Middle East: 4 Palestinians Killed
Aired June 27, 2003 - 06:10 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In the Middle East, four Palestinians are dead and two Israeli soldiers are wounded after a gun battle near Gaza City.
And that's where CNN's senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar is this morning.
Hello again -- Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka.
That Israeli incursion beginning in the middle of the night. The Israeli forces saying this morning their intent was to go in and to arrest a number of people that they say they believe they had intelligence or planning to carry out attacks imminently. One, they say, was planned for this morning.
In the event there was a gun battle, four Palestinians are dead, including a 14-year-old boy and a Palestinian civilian, four others have been arrested. It seems that the prime target of those raids was a man who is known to be a senior leader of the Hamas military wing, a man known as an engineer. That is someone who is considered to be an expert bomb and explosives maker.
Now, as we said, there are two Israeli soldiers who have been wounded. The question is what impact this has on the ongoing discussions, which have been taking place amongst the Palestinian militant factions about the prospect for a cease-fire, a temporary three-month truce.
Talking to a senior Hamas spokesman a short while ago, I was told that clearly they would have to be new discussions, they would have to evaluate these actions. There was a meeting yesterday. There no decision has yet been reached.
Also today, Fredricka, we know that late last night there were talks convened by the U.S. ambassador at his home in Tel Aviv to the north of here between Israelis and Palestinians to discuss security operations. We are told from both Israeli and Palestinian sources that those talks made very good progress and they are resuming again today. We are told that they have essentially reached an agreement to transfer security for all of the Gaza Strip, which would include a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and also the removal of most of the checkpoints that block the main road in the Gaza Strip to Palestinian traffic. Now those talks are continuing. There is still more work to be done, we are told, and there will be a meeting later today to assess progress there -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Sheila MacVicar, thanks very much for that report.
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 27, 2003 - 06:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In the Middle East, four Palestinians are dead and two Israeli soldiers are wounded after a gun battle near Gaza City.
And that's where CNN's senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar is this morning.
Hello again -- Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka.
That Israeli incursion beginning in the middle of the night. The Israeli forces saying this morning their intent was to go in and to arrest a number of people that they say they believe they had intelligence or planning to carry out attacks imminently. One, they say, was planned for this morning.
In the event there was a gun battle, four Palestinians are dead, including a 14-year-old boy and a Palestinian civilian, four others have been arrested. It seems that the prime target of those raids was a man who is known to be a senior leader of the Hamas military wing, a man known as an engineer. That is someone who is considered to be an expert bomb and explosives maker.
Now, as we said, there are two Israeli soldiers who have been wounded. The question is what impact this has on the ongoing discussions, which have been taking place amongst the Palestinian militant factions about the prospect for a cease-fire, a temporary three-month truce.
Talking to a senior Hamas spokesman a short while ago, I was told that clearly they would have to be new discussions, they would have to evaluate these actions. There was a meeting yesterday. There no decision has yet been reached.
Also today, Fredricka, we know that late last night there were talks convened by the U.S. ambassador at his home in Tel Aviv to the north of here between Israelis and Palestinians to discuss security operations. We are told from both Israeli and Palestinian sources that those talks made very good progress and they are resuming again today. We are told that they have essentially reached an agreement to transfer security for all of the Gaza Strip, which would include a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and also the removal of most of the checkpoints that block the main road in the Gaza Strip to Palestinian traffic. Now those talks are continuing. There is still more work to be done, we are told, and there will be a meeting later today to assess progress there -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Sheila MacVicar, thanks very much for that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
