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CNN Sunday Morning

Israeli Forces Round Up Hundreds of Palestinians

Aired March 10, 2002 - 08:08   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, Israeli security forces rounded up hundreds of Palestinian men from Tulkarem Refugee Camp and moved them to an Army base. It's a West Bank town close to the Israeli town of Netanya. Israel says Tulkarem has been a staging ground for attacks on its citizens. Ben Wedeman traveled to the West Bank town and has this report from the Palestinian perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nothing is standing in Israel's way, pressing ahead with its offensive. Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers have taken control of Tulkarem's main refugee camp, leaving a path of destruction in their wake.

After Friday's bloodshed here, which left at least 16 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead, the fighting died down, but the smoke has yet to clear. Israeli soldiers warily watch the streets, taking aim at potential resistance. Few Palestinians ventured out of the camp's back allies.

In the afternoon, Israeli soldiers called upon the camp's adult males to gather in the courtyard of the United Nation's school. Women and children watched on. Their fathers, brothers and sons suddenly at the mercy of those they see as their enemy.

(on camera): Most of the men and teenage boys in this camp have given themselves up, fearful of the consequences of any resistance.

(voice-over): "We're going because we haven't done anything," says this man. "If they go into our houses, they'll scare the children even more. It's been bad enough already."

Israeli soldiers said they were looking for suspects on a list of men believed to have attacked Israelis. Some of those giving themselves up appeared to be unlikely terrorists. Since Thursday, Israel has arrested around 500 Palestinians in Tulkarem. Some were on Israel's wanted list.

Israeli forces also found in the camp what they said were 10 homemade rockets and an explosives workshop. The Israel foray into this camp has been a traumatic experience for many here. "They've arrested my husband, my son, others have been killed," says this woman. "The freezers in the morgue are full of the dead. They should know we are not animals, we are flesh and blood." In that morgue, the body of ambulance Ibrahim Mohammed Esad (ph), shot Thursday by the Israelis. The Israeli Army says he didn't respond to soldiers' orders to stop. A colleague looks on, overcome. Israel may have found what it was looking for here, but it comes at a very high cost.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Tulkarem, on the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: No response to the Tulkarem incident. The Israeli Army says it's holding for questioning about 500 men described as "armed activists." An Army spokesperson says, "Where this reasonable proof of terrorist activity, they will be brought to court."

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