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CNN Live At Daybreak
Hopes for Reviving Mideast Peace Talks Once Again in Doubt
Aired December 26, 2003 - 05:34 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the Middle East, hopes for reviving the Middle East peace talks are once again in doubt, this after more than two months of relative calm coming to an end on Christmas Day in Israel and in the Palestinian territories.
CNN's John Vause has the latest from Jerusalem -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fred.
Well, Israeli officials say that term relative calm was only an illusion. While it's true there were no terrorist attacks inside Israel for the last 81 days, Israeli authorities say in that time they stopped 26 suicide bombers. But last night in Tel Aviv, suicide bomber number 27 was successful.
Now, the blast killed four people and wounded 25 others. Now, mostly they were hurt by flying pieces of metal shrapnel. And it happened during rush hour at a busy intersection just north of Tel Aviv. And witnesses say it sounded like a SCUD missile.
Now, police in Tel Aviv say there were no specific warnings of an attack last night in Tel Aviv. But in the last 24 hours, there have been warnings of 52 separate terrorist alerts in Israel, the West Bank as well as Gaza.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the blast. They say it's in response to the killing of two Palestinian military commanders last week in Nablus.
Now, within hours, Israel closed off the borders to the territories, reimposing strict travel bans which had, in fact, been eased for the Christmas period. And Israel also demolished the house of the suicide bomber, an 18-year-old man who came from the West Bank village of Beit Furik, which is actually near Nablus, as well.
Now, hours before the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, though, Israeli helicopters fired two missiles at a car in Gaza, killing a commander of the military wing of Islamic Jihad and five others, including a teenaged boy just 16 years old. He was a passerby.
Now, this is the first targeted killing, as Israel calls them, or an assassination, as the Palestinians call them, in almost two months. Now, that military leader was Mekled Hameid, described by Israel as a ticking time bomb who was in the process of planning what Israel describes as a mega terror attack. They also accused Hameid of planning and directing terrorist attacks against Israelis over the past few years. Now, sources in Gaza tell CNN that Islamic Jihad has put out an alert to its members to be ready for more Israeli attacks and it has issued a response, saying the assassination of Mekled Hameid would not pass without an earthquake like response -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: John Vause, thank you very much for that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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Aired December 26, 2003 - 05:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the Middle East, hopes for reviving the Middle East peace talks are once again in doubt, this after more than two months of relative calm coming to an end on Christmas Day in Israel and in the Palestinian territories.
CNN's John Vause has the latest from Jerusalem -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fred.
Well, Israeli officials say that term relative calm was only an illusion. While it's true there were no terrorist attacks inside Israel for the last 81 days, Israeli authorities say in that time they stopped 26 suicide bombers. But last night in Tel Aviv, suicide bomber number 27 was successful.
Now, the blast killed four people and wounded 25 others. Now, mostly they were hurt by flying pieces of metal shrapnel. And it happened during rush hour at a busy intersection just north of Tel Aviv. And witnesses say it sounded like a SCUD missile.
Now, police in Tel Aviv say there were no specific warnings of an attack last night in Tel Aviv. But in the last 24 hours, there have been warnings of 52 separate terrorist alerts in Israel, the West Bank as well as Gaza.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the blast. They say it's in response to the killing of two Palestinian military commanders last week in Nablus.
Now, within hours, Israel closed off the borders to the territories, reimposing strict travel bans which had, in fact, been eased for the Christmas period. And Israel also demolished the house of the suicide bomber, an 18-year-old man who came from the West Bank village of Beit Furik, which is actually near Nablus, as well.
Now, hours before the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, though, Israeli helicopters fired two missiles at a car in Gaza, killing a commander of the military wing of Islamic Jihad and five others, including a teenaged boy just 16 years old. He was a passerby.
Now, this is the first targeted killing, as Israel calls them, or an assassination, as the Palestinians call them, in almost two months. Now, that military leader was Mekled Hameid, described by Israel as a ticking time bomb who was in the process of planning what Israel describes as a mega terror attack. They also accused Hameid of planning and directing terrorist attacks against Israelis over the past few years. Now, sources in Gaza tell CNN that Islamic Jihad has put out an alert to its members to be ready for more Israeli attacks and it has issued a response, saying the assassination of Mekled Hameid would not pass without an earthquake like response -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: John Vause, thank you very much for that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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