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CNN Live Today

Israel Begins Releasing Hundreds of Palestinians

Aired August 06, 2003 - 07:36   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Israel this morning has begun releasing hundreds of Palestinians from prison. It's being called a goodwill gesture. But the Palestinians are demanding more.
Jerrold Kessel is live now in northern Israel with more on this situation -- good morning, Jerrold.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

And it's a very good morning for 339 Palestinian families whose sons, brothers, other relatives will be returning home after they've been released from Israeli prisons today, as part of what Israel calls a goodwill gesture.

We're right here on one of these checkpoints on the border between Israel and the West Bank. Final arrangements under way here. As I get up a picture you'll see the Palestinian officials from the Palestinian Authority have come across the border fence talking to the Israeli military officers. They're arranging the final details.

The bus carrying some 45 people, the prisoners, is on its way.

And then if we push through this way through the fence, beyond there you'll see in the distance, Heidi, some, about a hundred or so Palestinians with those cars. They've been pushed back. They were originally here by the fence. We were talking to a lot of them and waiting for the people are being released.

Now, the mood is rather subdued compared to other previous releases that Israel is engaged in and letting Palestinian security prisoners out because the Palestinians say they wanted many, many more, they wanted it in coordination with Israel, they wanted this to be a major fillip down that peace road.

The Israelis say no, wait a minute, we're doing this as a good will gesture. It's a unilateral action on our behalf and we'll decide how many should be released, the kind of people who we release and we will release more as time goes by if the peace process really gets under way.

But for the moment, it seems to have been even souring the atmosphere between the two sides. Not a lot of distrust -- not a lot of trust, a lot of distrust, although, of course, on the faces of those Palestinians who were released this morning when the buses came out of prison and were on their way to these release points here on the West Bank, they were very, very happy, indeed. So there is an element of good will, an element of encouraging good relations. But it doesn't really go far enough to change the tenor of relations between the two sides -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Jerrold, I just want to let everyone know that we are looking at a live picture now of those former prisoners being released, getting on some buses there, going to be reunited with their families. You see one man kissing the ground. This is in Ramallah. Once again, these are the first wave of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel, a major point of contention for quite some time now on the road map to peace.

Jerrold, and if you're still with me, just curious, what is your best sense of whether or not there will be more prisoners released?

KESSEL: It is a very interesting issue because this is not an obligation on Israel under the terms of the road map for peace. It really is a unilateral Israeli decision. And I think what the Israelis have been telling the Palestinians, look, we will release more people. We won't release those who have really committed the worst terror offenses. The Palestinians want all the 6,000, 7,000 who are held in Israeli prisons to go. But Israel says if you start taking on those militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, there will be more releases.

But for the moment, it's our decision, say the Israelis, we want to do that. And as we, as we're talking, Heidi, and just as we see those scenes elsewhere on the West Bank, I see one of those buses approaching from a prison nearby here, which is going to bring the 50 or so prisoners who are going to be released here to the northern part of the West Bank and deposited here, received by Palestinian officials. And we see this perhaps a sop to the situation, this white tablecloth that's been laid over an army trestle table where the prisoners will all be asked to sign that they will not get involved in any kind of terror activity again. That's a condition for their release.

They'll sign, if they choose to do so, and then walk across the fence and into the Palestinian side, onto the West Bank -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Jerrold Kessel, thanks so much for explaining all of that to us live this morning.

And those pictures that you saw are coming in live, as well, from Ramallah.

We'll keep our eye on that story for you this morning.

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 August 6, 2003 - 07:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Israel this morning has begun releasing hundreds of Palestinians from prison. It's being called a goodwill gesture. But the Palestinians are demanding more.
Jerrold Kessel is live now in northern Israel with more on this situation -- good morning, Jerrold.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

And it's a very good morning for 339 Palestinian families whose sons, brothers, other relatives will be returning home after they've been released from Israeli prisons today, as part of what Israel calls a goodwill gesture.

We're right here on one of these checkpoints on the border between Israel and the West Bank. Final arrangements under way here. As I get up a picture you'll see the Palestinian officials from the Palestinian Authority have come across the border fence talking to the Israeli military officers. They're arranging the final details.

The bus carrying some 45 people, the prisoners, is on its way.

And then if we push through this way through the fence, beyond there you'll see in the distance, Heidi, some, about a hundred or so Palestinians with those cars. They've been pushed back. They were originally here by the fence. We were talking to a lot of them and waiting for the people are being released.

Now, the mood is rather subdued compared to other previous releases that Israel is engaged in and letting Palestinian security prisoners out because the Palestinians say they wanted many, many more, they wanted it in coordination with Israel, they wanted this to be a major fillip down that peace road.

The Israelis say no, wait a minute, we're doing this as a good will gesture. It's a unilateral action on our behalf and we'll decide how many should be released, the kind of people who we release and we will release more as time goes by if the peace process really gets under way.

But for the moment, it seems to have been even souring the atmosphere between the two sides. Not a lot of distrust -- not a lot of trust, a lot of distrust, although, of course, on the faces of those Palestinians who were released this morning when the buses came out of prison and were on their way to these release points here on the West Bank, they were very, very happy, indeed. So there is an element of good will, an element of encouraging good relations. But it doesn't really go far enough to change the tenor of relations between the two sides -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Jerrold, I just want to let everyone know that we are looking at a live picture now of those former prisoners being released, getting on some buses there, going to be reunited with their families. You see one man kissing the ground. This is in Ramallah. Once again, these are the first wave of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel, a major point of contention for quite some time now on the road map to peace.

Jerrold, and if you're still with me, just curious, what is your best sense of whether or not there will be more prisoners released?

KESSEL: It is a very interesting issue because this is not an obligation on Israel under the terms of the road map for peace. It really is a unilateral Israeli decision. And I think what the Israelis have been telling the Palestinians, look, we will release more people. We won't release those who have really committed the worst terror offenses. The Palestinians want all the 6,000, 7,000 who are held in Israeli prisons to go. But Israel says if you start taking on those militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, there will be more releases.

But for the moment, it's our decision, say the Israelis, we want to do that. And as we, as we're talking, Heidi, and just as we see those scenes elsewhere on the West Bank, I see one of those buses approaching from a prison nearby here, which is going to bring the 50 or so prisoners who are going to be released here to the northern part of the West Bank and deposited here, received by Palestinian officials. And we see this perhaps a sop to the situation, this white tablecloth that's been laid over an army trestle table where the prisoners will all be asked to sign that they will not get involved in any kind of terror activity again. That's a condition for their release.

They'll sign, if they choose to do so, and then walk across the fence and into the Palestinian side, onto the West Bank -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Jerrold Kessel, thanks so much for explaining all of that to us live this morning.

And those pictures that you saw are coming in live, as well, from Ramallah.

We'll keep our eye on that story for you this morning.

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