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American Morning

Palestinian Militants Prepare for Possible Assault on Gaza

Aired May 14, 2002 - 07:41   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: We move on to the Middle East this morning, where two sides are getting ready for battle. Following last week's deadly suicide attack near Tel Aviv, Israeli forces began massing near Gaza in preparation for a military response.

For now, that operation is on hold, but CNN's Matthew Chance this morning has some exclusive pictures of the Palestinians getting ready and bracing for a potential attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A show of force in Gaza from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. While Israeli forces remain poised outside this territory, they are preparing for what could still be a terrible fight. Their faces are hidden, so Israel won't know who to target in their ranks.

Despised as terrorists in Israel, these Brigades have carried out shootings and suicide attacks, but they see themselves here as defenders of Gaza, subject, they believe, of an inevitable invasion like in the West Bank by Israel.

"If the world will not defend our homes, our families or our holy places," he says, "then we'll do it ourselves. Sharon, the war criminal, is the terrorist, not us."

(on camera): There is no shortage of grim determination here. Israel's plans to strike at Gaza may have been placed on hold for the moment, but few Palestinians believe an attack has been anything but temporarily delayed, and armed groups, like this, all over Gaza are still on high alert.

(voice-over): At night, members of the Brigade plant landmines in earth barricades on the street. Tanks are the main target, but armored bulldozers, so devastating in Jenin, could also be stopped. Small units of fighters like this say they'll spread out across Gaza in conjunction with other groups to harass Israeli forces once they attack.

"In spite of the disagreements that may occur between the different Palestinian groups, we all know who the real enemy is," he says. "Israel does not differentiate between a member of Fatah or Hamas or Islamic jihad, so we are one front against them." It's that coordination on the ground that could turn any West Bank-style operation here into a bloodbath. Israeli soldiers might have to fight in close quarters with these men through densely populated civilian areas, and the real possibility of heavy casualties, they say, has forced Israel to blink, this time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: Exclusive report from our own Matthew Chance in Gaza City.

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