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CNN Live Saturday
Israeli Forces Reoccupy Hebron
Aired November 16, 2002 - 17:37 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: In Hebron, Israeli forces are reoccupying the West Bank city of Hebron in response to yesterday's bloody ambush on Jewish settlers. Forty-one people are in custody for questioning. Officials say Palestinian militants perched on a hill in a Palestinian-controlled area of Hebron opened fire on settlers heading back from Sabbath services. Twelve people, mostly police and soldiers, were killed. CNN's Matthew Chance has an update now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israel's response in Hebron has only begun. Palestinians the army says, the suspected militants were blindfolded, their hands tied before being taken away. Military officials say three gunmen were shot dead during the ambush but others may have escaped they say into the city.
Details are now emerging of the attack that took so many lives. A procession of Jewish settlers under troop escort was returning from prayers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. As they reached the Kiryat Abba settlement on the outskirts of Hebron, gunmen opened fire on a military group.
When more Israeli security forces arrived, Palestinian gunmen unleashed a ferocious ambush. Witnesses say bullets seemed to be fired from everywhere. After 90 minutes, the firefight was over. Among the dead, an Israeli colonel now the highest-ranking officer killed in the two-year Palestinian intifada.
In Gaza, supporters of Islamic Jihad, the militant group that says it carried out the Hebron attack, were celebrating in the streets. For them, this is a major military victory, a blow against the despised Israeli occupation, but it is one that may provoke a heavy response.
Hebron has long been a focus of bitter Israeli-Palestinian violence. Occupied by Israel in 1967, some 450 Jewish settlers now live amid more than 130,000 Palestinians there. The ambush is only the latest killing. With the mood in Israel so hard line as elections approach, the harsh response to Hebron may be yet to come.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 November 16, 2002 - 17:37 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In Hebron, Israeli forces are reoccupying the West Bank city of Hebron in response to yesterday's bloody ambush on Jewish settlers. Forty-one people are in custody for questioning. Officials say Palestinian militants perched on a hill in a Palestinian-controlled area of Hebron opened fire on settlers heading back from Sabbath services. Twelve people, mostly police and soldiers, were killed. CNN's Matthew Chance has an update now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israel's response in Hebron has only begun. Palestinians the army says, the suspected militants were blindfolded, their hands tied before being taken away. Military officials say three gunmen were shot dead during the ambush but others may have escaped they say into the city.
Details are now emerging of the attack that took so many lives. A procession of Jewish settlers under troop escort was returning from prayers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. As they reached the Kiryat Abba settlement on the outskirts of Hebron, gunmen opened fire on a military group.
When more Israeli security forces arrived, Palestinian gunmen unleashed a ferocious ambush. Witnesses say bullets seemed to be fired from everywhere. After 90 minutes, the firefight was over. Among the dead, an Israeli colonel now the highest-ranking officer killed in the two-year Palestinian intifada.
In Gaza, supporters of Islamic Jihad, the militant group that says it carried out the Hebron attack, were celebrating in the streets. For them, this is a major military victory, a blow against the despised Israeli occupation, but it is one that may provoke a heavy response.
Hebron has long been a focus of bitter Israeli-Palestinian violence. Occupied by Israel in 1967, some 450 Jewish settlers now live amid more than 130,000 Palestinians there. The ambush is only the latest killing. With the mood in Israel so hard line as elections approach, the harsh response to Hebron may be yet to come.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
