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American Morning

Israeli Troops Surround Arafat's Compound

Aired June 24, 2002 - 07:03   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now some news from overseas. Israeli forces are back in Ramallah surrounding Yasser Arafat's compound. The massive military operation started at dawn this morning, and it threatened yet again to postpone a speech that President Bush was expected to give today outlining the path to Palestinian statehood.

Our Matthew Chance joins us. He is live now in Ramallah -- Matthew, hello.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn. A great deal of military activity here in the Middle East with activity here in Ramallah. Up to 80 tanks, backed by armored personnel carriers, jeeps, armored bulldozers, moving into the West Bank city of Ramallah in the early hours of this morning taking up positions outside key installations in the city, blocking off road junctions with earth barricades and concrete barricades; also moving to seal the entrance points of Yasser Arafat's presidential compound.

The Israeli Defense Forces, the Israeli military say the purpose of that is not to prevent people inside the compound coming out. Instead, it's to prevent suspected militants they say they are trying to track down inside Ramallah from escaping into the compound, where they say, they believe, that militants feel they will have safe haven.

Let me take you now to Ramallah, where there has been more activity, another attack by Israeli helicopter gunships against two Palestinian cars. At least six Palestinian people dead in that attack, one of them has been named by the Israeli Defense Forces as Yasser Saed (ph) Rizek, a known Hamas member -- a member of the militant group, Hamas. At least five others, including two of his brothers, killed in that attack. Palestinian emergency workers say nine people, mostly bystanders, were involved in that clash as well, and were injured as a result of it.

Now, there has been reaction from the Palestinian Authority. They have condemned the latest Israeli military action, saying that the latest killing in Gaza brings to 18 of the number of Palestinians killed in the past three days. And they say that Israel is now resuming its occupation of the West Bank -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Matthew Chance in Ramallah -- Matthew, thank you very much.

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