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American Morning

Church of Nativity Standoff Ends

Aired May 10, 2002 - 08:02   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, though, it is really over: A deal at dawn ends the tense five week standoff at the Church of the Nativity. The last of the 124 Palestinians who were still inside the church left the building peacefully this morning, including 10 peace activists who refused to leave after the standoff ended and had to be escorted out of the building by the Israeli police. The 13 militants who are on Israel's most wanted list were quickly flown to Cypress on their first stop in exile. And 26 other Palestinians who Israel also regards as terrorists were sent to Gaza City.

And CNN's Matthew Chance is outside a hotel where they are being held and he joins us now with the latest on their status -- good morning, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, as well, Paula.

I'm not sure held is the right word, but you're right to say it because we were all under the impression throughout these long running, quite painful, tortuous negotiations at the Church of the Nativity that these 26 Palestinians, who weren't the most wanted of those holed up inside the church -- those have gone into exile, as we've reported -- these 26 were coming to Gaza, we understood, to face some kind of legal proceedings, to be put in Palestinian custody and to possibly face a trial in a Palestinian court. It's not clear, though, whether that is, indeed, what's to happen. We certainly, within the last few hours we witnessed them coming over the Erez crossing point, which leads from Israel proper into this Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip. They look very pale -- very frail, indeed, and weak as they sort of walked across to the awaiting Palestinian security officials and members of the media.

They've been brought through the streets. Through the streets people came out to show their support, waving Palestinian flags and showing victory signs in the air as their bus drove through the streets of Gaza to this hotel right on the seafront here at Gaza.

As I say, there's a lot of police here, a lot of police presence here at the moment to provide security for these people. But it's not clear that they will face any legal proceedings. Indeed, it is our understanding that they will be permitted to rejoin the Palestinian security forces. That is the groups, of course, many of these people were members of in Bethlehem. So they're being treated very much as heroes here, not as the kind of minor criminals, admittedly, that the Israelis spoke of them.

I just want to add one thing, which is although they will be allowed to walk freely, there are certain limitations, of course, that are imposed on everybody in Gaza as a result of the Israeli presence on the outskirts. So they, too, will be subject to those. They will not be permitted to go back to what is, for many of them, their homes in the West Bank -- Paula.

ZAHN: And Matthew, we've been reporting for several hours now that there are tanks massing on the perimeter of Gaza. What is the expectation there?

CHANCE: Well, I mean the expectation is that there will be some form of Israeli military action here in Gaza. What shape it will take we just don't know, nor do the residents here. The Israeli officials have said they'll only carry out pinpoint strikes against selected targets in Gaza. The people of this territory, though, are preparing for the worst.

Up and down the Gaza Strip, sand banks have been tipped across roads, many of them laced with land mines. Communities across Gaza have been erecting sand bag barricades to provide some kind of protection, of course, not from Israeli tanks or helicopter gunships or war planes, but at least, they say, from Israeli machine gun fire.

People in their homes, as well, are stockpiling food. They've seen the pictures and heard the stories about the long running sieges in Ramallah and Bethlehem, and, of course, in Jenin. They are determined that that will not happen to them, that they will be prepared. And they are preparing for a fight -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right, Matthew Chance, thanks so much for that report.

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