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CNN Live Saturday

Israeli Tanks Pull Out of Gaza

Aired December 15, 2001 - 17:09   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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The crisis in the Middle East is escalating, and that has prompted the Bush administration to recall its envoy to the region. Retired Marine General Anthony Zinni was dispatched last month to try to get Israel and the Palestinians to implement the latest peace plan. And while Israeli tanks did pull out of one Gaza town today, peace seems more elusive than ever.

As CNN's Matthew Chance reports, and we caution you, there may be disturbing images in this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israeli armor advancing through northern Gaza. Israel is taking its declared war on terrorism to the Palestinian streets.

Across the barricades, crowds of protesters, angry at the presence of Israeli tanks. Among them, armed Palestinian security forces firing automatic weapons. But the stone throwers are just children. They ran for cover together.

In the chaos, Palestinian ambulances moved to rescue the injured. Israeli gunfire pierces the air around them. We saw this boy shot in the head. He's still breathing, as he was hurried away.

Just hours after a U.S. veto blocked a United Nations resolution against the violence, Israel appears to be stepping up its military action. This operation, it says, is against terrorists, planning and executing attacks on Jewish settlements in Gaza. Few accept that here. (on camera): Whatever the Israelis say is their purpose here, many Palestinians are now convinced that war is being waged, not on terrorism, but on their people as a whole. And many Palestinians here at least in Gaza say they will fight back.

(voice-over): New barricades rolled out, as soon as the tanks withdrew enough. With tensions high, protesters told me how these incidents were only fueling support for the actions of militant groups.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are the source of the terrorism. Anyone who kills our children is responsible, because in retaliation, we will kill their children and their old men. As their blood has a value, ours has the same. CHANCE: Through the black smoke of the burning tires, Israel's military might has once again been revealed. But its unclear whether this hard-line strategy will stem future violence, or fan the flames.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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