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Historic Exchange Amid Jerusalem Bus Bombing

Aired January 29, 2004 - 09:59   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: Israel releases some 400 Palestinian prisoners as part of a swap with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. But another group, the Al Aqsa Martyrs, Brigade nuked that optimism with a deadly suicide bombings aboard an Israeli bus.
And we are going to turn up first to the Middle East, and that has been a volatile day for both historic cooperation, and the all too familiar bloodshed, as suicide bombers struck a crowded bus in Jerusalem as Israel and Hezbollah began a historic exchange of prisoners.

Our Matthew Chance joins us from our bureau in Jerusalem.

Hello.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

It began this day with scenes of utter devastation. A suicide bomber tearing open and ripping to shreds a commuter bus crowded with early morning commuters on the busy streets of west Jerusalem early this morning.

The latest casualty figures we have from the Israeli government, 10 Israelis killed, plus, of course, the bomber. Many people injured, more than 40 said to be injured, some of them seriously. It's a testament to how efficient and accustomed the Israelis have become to these kind of deadly suicide attacks, because it was just three hours that it took the Israeli authorities to bring in the security forces to secure the area, to take away the dead and the injured, and to tow away the devastated carcass of that bus to allow traffic to flow freely again. That is continuing the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is loosely affiliated to Yasser Arafat's Fattah faction, is the Palestinian militant group that said it carried out the attacks.

The bombing takes place as a very controversial prisoner swap also goes ahead, agreed to between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah early this morning. Some 400 Palestinians were released from Israeli jails, and allowed to go back to their homes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where they were greeted by family members. Also 29 other prisoners, Lebanese and Arab nationalities amongst them, flown to Germany, onward to Beirut, where they will be received by the Hezbollah militia in that country. In return, Israel will see back within a few hours from now one Israeli citizen who was captured, kidnapped by Hezbollah back in 2000, El Hinan Tenenbaum (ph), a 54- year-old businessman who was in Lebanon, he says, or in the Middle East, he said, for business purposes. They will also be receiving back, in exchange for those prisoners they've released, the bodies of three dead Israeli soldiers who were captured and killed by Hezbollah, again, back in 2000.

So some very contrasting scenes we're expecting over the next few hours, scenes of celebration and joy from the Palestinian territories, and also from the Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon. A much more somber scene expected in Israel this evening when those bodies are returned back -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Matthew, is it surprising that Israel still went ahead with the prisoner exchange, given light of the news of the bus bombing?

CHANCE: Well, I spoke to Israeli officials about that very point. And they said the two deals, the two events, were unrelated. They say a suicide bombing like this took weeks to plan. They're very sophisticated, the operatives who do this. It takes, you know, a lot of time to assemble the explosive devices. You know, they say it wasn't related so, they went ahead with the exchange.

HEMMER: Matthew Chance in Jerusalem, 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






Aired January 29, 2004 - 09:59   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Israel releases some 400 Palestinian prisoners as part of a swap with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. But another group, the Al Aqsa Martyrs, Brigade nuked that optimism with a deadly suicide bombings aboard an Israeli bus.
And we are going to turn up first to the Middle East, and that has been a volatile day for both historic cooperation, and the all too familiar bloodshed, as suicide bombers struck a crowded bus in Jerusalem as Israel and Hezbollah began a historic exchange of prisoners.

Our Matthew Chance joins us from our bureau in Jerusalem.

Hello.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

It began this day with scenes of utter devastation. A suicide bomber tearing open and ripping to shreds a commuter bus crowded with early morning commuters on the busy streets of west Jerusalem early this morning.

The latest casualty figures we have from the Israeli government, 10 Israelis killed, plus, of course, the bomber. Many people injured, more than 40 said to be injured, some of them seriously. It's a testament to how efficient and accustomed the Israelis have become to these kind of deadly suicide attacks, because it was just three hours that it took the Israeli authorities to bring in the security forces to secure the area, to take away the dead and the injured, and to tow away the devastated carcass of that bus to allow traffic to flow freely again. That is continuing the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is loosely affiliated to Yasser Arafat's Fattah faction, is the Palestinian militant group that said it carried out the attacks.

The bombing takes place as a very controversial prisoner swap also goes ahead, agreed to between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah early this morning. Some 400 Palestinians were released from Israeli jails, and allowed to go back to their homes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where they were greeted by family members. Also 29 other prisoners, Lebanese and Arab nationalities amongst them, flown to Germany, onward to Beirut, where they will be received by the Hezbollah militia in that country. In return, Israel will see back within a few hours from now one Israeli citizen who was captured, kidnapped by Hezbollah back in 2000, El Hinan Tenenbaum (ph), a 54- year-old businessman who was in Lebanon, he says, or in the Middle East, he said, for business purposes. They will also be receiving back, in exchange for those prisoners they've released, the bodies of three dead Israeli soldiers who were captured and killed by Hezbollah, again, back in 2000.

So some very contrasting scenes we're expecting over the next few hours, scenes of celebration and joy from the Palestinian territories, and also from the Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon. A much more somber scene expected in Israel this evening when those bodies are returned back -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Matthew, is it surprising that Israel still went ahead with the prisoner exchange, given light of the news of the bus bombing?

CHANCE: Well, I spoke to Israeli officials about that very point. And they said the two deals, the two events, were unrelated. They say a suicide bombing like this took weeks to plan. They're very sophisticated, the operatives who do this. It takes, you know, a lot of time to assemble the explosive devices. You know, they say it wasn't related so, they went ahead with the exchange.

HEMMER: Matthew Chance in Jerusalem, 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