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CNN Live Today

Israel Ends Patrols Inside Bethlehem

Aired July 02, 2003 - 10:12   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We move to the crisis in the Middle East. A glimmer of hope that the sides have taken a step on the road map to peace. Israeli troops packed up and pulled out of Bethlehem this morning for its official handover to Palestinian control. Church bells rang in celebration.
Our Dan Lothian is in Bethlehem, and he has the latest.

Dan, hello.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn, well yesterday we saw the Israeli prime minister, the Palestinian prime minister, shaking hands and vowing to really accomplish peace at great ends. Well, today, this is just one step in that process, as we saw Israeli troops pulling out of Bethlehem, Palestinian policing units moving in.

Right behind me, can you see some of those units. They moved in a little more than an hour and a half ago. And as you mentioned, there was a bit of celebration here. The church bells were ringing here in the square. There were bands and truckloads of troops, policing units, coming through, honking their horns, people from Bethlehem coming out to see this new force that has come to town.

There was no visible pullout on the Israeli side, because the Israeli troops had pulled out of Bethlehem a couple of months ago. They had pretty much been on the outside of Bethlehem, only coming inside to either hunt down perhaps some of the elements, the militant elements, or to do routine patrols.

Israeli troops will still continue to man the main entrance into Bethlehem. Now there is still quite a bit of skepticism here. Some people telling us that they fully expect that the military will return to Bethlehem. Others say they still can't celebrate, they have to wait and see what happens in the weeks ahead -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dan Lothian in Bethlehem. Dan, thank you for that.

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Aired July 2, 2003 - 10:12   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We move to the crisis in the Middle East. A glimmer of hope that the sides have taken a step on the road map to peace. Israeli troops packed up and pulled out of Bethlehem this morning for its official handover to Palestinian control. Church bells rang in celebration.
Our Dan Lothian is in Bethlehem, and he has the latest.

Dan, hello.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn, well yesterday we saw the Israeli prime minister, the Palestinian prime minister, shaking hands and vowing to really accomplish peace at great ends. Well, today, this is just one step in that process, as we saw Israeli troops pulling out of Bethlehem, Palestinian policing units moving in.

Right behind me, can you see some of those units. They moved in a little more than an hour and a half ago. And as you mentioned, there was a bit of celebration here. The church bells were ringing here in the square. There were bands and truckloads of troops, policing units, coming through, honking their horns, people from Bethlehem coming out to see this new force that has come to town.

There was no visible pullout on the Israeli side, because the Israeli troops had pulled out of Bethlehem a couple of months ago. They had pretty much been on the outside of Bethlehem, only coming inside to either hunt down perhaps some of the elements, the militant elements, or to do routine patrols.

Israeli troops will still continue to man the main entrance into Bethlehem. Now there is still quite a bit of skepticism here. Some people telling us that they fully expect that the military will return to Bethlehem. Others say they still can't celebrate, they have to wait and see what happens in the weeks ahead -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dan Lothian in Bethlehem. Dan, thank you for that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com