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CNN Live At Daybreak
Progress in Tattered Road Map to Peace
Aired June 30, 2003 - 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: To the Middle East now, where there is progress in that tattered road map to peace plan. Just a short time ago, Israel handed over control of the major north-south highway running through Gaza to the Palestinian territory. Actually, they handed over that to the Palestinians.
Our Matthew Chance covering this movement from northern Gaza joins us live by video phone -- good morning, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, as well, Carol.
And I'm actually standing on that road, which, as you mentioned, runs north to south through the Gaza Strip right back into Israel itself, where we've seen this morning about 4,000 or so Palestinian workers, day laborers move through the checkpoint into Israel proper, where they can get day work, which is something that is very crucial for them to, you know, carry out their livelihoods here.
About 50 merchants, we're told by the authorities here, as well, traders who have gone through to buy materials and produce, to bring it back into Gaza and vice versa. So it's a very essential route through the Gaza Strip, not just for trade into Israel, but, of course, for trade up and down the Gaza Strip, just so people can simply -- farmers, for instance, can move their produce from one place to the other.
Under, when the Israelis were in this area, of course, that was not altogether possible. As a result of the 33 months of violence, the Israeli positions came right in here to try and sort of impose some kind of security for Israelis. But now, of course, there has been a truce from the main Palestinian militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as all the others, to stop carrying out their attacks against the Israelis.
As well as that, there has been an agreement, which is what we're witnessing here, between the Palestinian Authority and Israeli officials to hand over security responsibility for these areas back to the Palestinian Authority. You may be able to see behind me a couple of Palestinian Authority security forces patrolling this area. There are some numbers of them up and down these areas fought Gaza Strip now that have been basically left by the Israelis.
I want to make one additional point, though. It is that, of course, these are areas that were additional to the Jewish settlements that still very much exist inside the Gaza Strip. There is still a big Israeli presence inside this Palestinian territory. About 8,000 Jewish settlers in various locations up and down the Strip and about 10,000 Israelis soldiers here to protect them from potential attack.
COSTELLO: Oh, Matthew Chance, one more question for you.
The next big hurdle really is Bethlehem, right, and who will control that ultimately?
CHANCE: Exactly, and that's a similar kind of situation. I'm not actually clear about the situation as we speak on the ground in Bethlehem, but certainly that's been discussed, along with the situation in Gaza. What the Israelis are planning to do, along with the Palestinian Authority, is to transfer security control from them, who have been -- from the Israelis, who have been very much, you know, on the ground inside this Palestinian town in the West Bank -- transfer that security responsibility to the Palestinian Authority. That means, of course, that the Palestinian Authority security forces have to be responsible for cracking down and stopping all kinds of militant attacks on Israelis from that territory that they're given responsibility for.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens.
Matthew Chance live from Gaza this morning.
The fragile Middle East peace process is the subject when Secretary of State Colin Powell answers questions on AMERICAN MORNING. That's coming up in the seven o'clock Eastern hour.
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 30, 2003 - 05:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: To the Middle East now, where there is progress in that tattered road map to peace plan. Just a short time ago, Israel handed over control of the major north-south highway running through Gaza to the Palestinian territory. Actually, they handed over that to the Palestinians.
Our Matthew Chance covering this movement from northern Gaza joins us live by video phone -- good morning, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, as well, Carol.
And I'm actually standing on that road, which, as you mentioned, runs north to south through the Gaza Strip right back into Israel itself, where we've seen this morning about 4,000 or so Palestinian workers, day laborers move through the checkpoint into Israel proper, where they can get day work, which is something that is very crucial for them to, you know, carry out their livelihoods here.
About 50 merchants, we're told by the authorities here, as well, traders who have gone through to buy materials and produce, to bring it back into Gaza and vice versa. So it's a very essential route through the Gaza Strip, not just for trade into Israel, but, of course, for trade up and down the Gaza Strip, just so people can simply -- farmers, for instance, can move their produce from one place to the other.
Under, when the Israelis were in this area, of course, that was not altogether possible. As a result of the 33 months of violence, the Israeli positions came right in here to try and sort of impose some kind of security for Israelis. But now, of course, there has been a truce from the main Palestinian militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as all the others, to stop carrying out their attacks against the Israelis.
As well as that, there has been an agreement, which is what we're witnessing here, between the Palestinian Authority and Israeli officials to hand over security responsibility for these areas back to the Palestinian Authority. You may be able to see behind me a couple of Palestinian Authority security forces patrolling this area. There are some numbers of them up and down these areas fought Gaza Strip now that have been basically left by the Israelis.
I want to make one additional point, though. It is that, of course, these are areas that were additional to the Jewish settlements that still very much exist inside the Gaza Strip. There is still a big Israeli presence inside this Palestinian territory. About 8,000 Jewish settlers in various locations up and down the Strip and about 10,000 Israelis soldiers here to protect them from potential attack.
COSTELLO: Oh, Matthew Chance, one more question for you.
The next big hurdle really is Bethlehem, right, and who will control that ultimately?
CHANCE: Exactly, and that's a similar kind of situation. I'm not actually clear about the situation as we speak on the ground in Bethlehem, but certainly that's been discussed, along with the situation in Gaza. What the Israelis are planning to do, along with the Palestinian Authority, is to transfer security control from them, who have been -- from the Israelis, who have been very much, you know, on the ground inside this Palestinian town in the West Bank -- transfer that security responsibility to the Palestinian Authority. That means, of course, that the Palestinian Authority security forces have to be responsible for cracking down and stopping all kinds of militant attacks on Israelis from that territory that they're given responsibility for.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens.
Matthew Chance live from Gaza this morning.
The fragile Middle East peace process is the subject when Secretary of State Colin Powell answers questions on AMERICAN MORNING. That's coming up in the seven o'clock Eastern hour.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
