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CNN Sunday Morning

Four Palestinian Men Killed Sneaking into Israel

Aired March 24, 2002 - 11:36   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.
KATE SNOW, CNN ANCHOR: In the Middle East, Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinians gunmen trying to sneak into Israel and an Israeli woman was reportedly killed in another shooting incident there. The violence has become a political flashpoint for neighboring Arab states. CNN Beirut Bureau Chief Brent Sadler reports on how Lebanon fits in to the complicated problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): It's one of the world's most heavily fortified borders separating Lebanon from Israel, where Hezbollah guerrillas say they're poised to continue attacks like these on Israeli troops occupying the disputed Sheba (ph) Farms at the foot of the Golan Heights, and ready they say to open a second front if Israel ever attempts to crush the Palestinian revolt by provoking a transfer of population from the occupied territories to Jordan.

SAYED HASSAN NASRALLAH (through translator): Meaning if they wish to repeat the 1948 events by forcing the Palestinians off their land, no one can remain quiet, not Hezbollah nor anyone else. This will lead to the opening up of many fronts, and the explosion of the whole region.

SADLER: The Palestinian intafada broke out some 18 months ago, just four months after Hezbollah claimed battlefield victory over Israel in the former Israeli occupied tip of south Lebanon, and today, Hezbollah has a clear agenda to support the Palestinians with whatever it takes, money, weapons, and political backing.

AMAL SAAD-GHORAYEB, AUTHOR "HEZBOLLAH POLITICS RELIGION": It's even more closely connected now than it was in the past. So I think every military act Hezbollah commits now will serve the Palestinians one way or another.

SADLER: Hezbollah has been promoting itself as a role model in resistance over occupation throughout the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, emphasizing that suicide bombings or martyrdom operations, as Hezbollah calls them, are sapping Israeli resolve.

NASRALLAH (through translator): This is the right time to bring down Sharon. Sharon has failed to break the will of the Palestinian resistance. SADLER: From its favorite studios, Hezbollah broadcasts in Arabic and English reach a mass audience, a constant flow of one-sided anti- Israeli propaganda.

Mohammed Abu Rudeineh, a Palestinian, walks through Beirut's Sabra and Shatilla (ph) refugee camps. At home, he listens carefully to Hezbollah's news reports.

MOHAMMED ABU RUDEINEH, PALESTINIAN REFUGEE: We're losing everything in this war today. If we can't fight, it's all over. Fighting is the right to (inaudible). Fighting means we will be the masters of our Palestine.

SAAD-GHORAYEB: There's a very sort of palpable influence within the occupied territories, you know, by Hezbollah. So Israel really has no choice but to take Hezbollah's propaganda machine very seriously.

SADLER (on camera): And Hezbollah officials have made no secrets of directly supporting the Palestinian conflict, admitting an attempt to smuggle short-range rockets into the occupied territories, calling for more suicide bombing and demanding that Arab governments throw their full weight behind the Palestinian arms struggle.

SADLER (voice over): The United States classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organization with global reach, posing problems for the Lebanese authorities, hosts of the upcoming Arab Summit, when regional leaders will be under pressure to offer more support for the Palestinian resistance at the same time as consolidating a Saudi proposal for peace. Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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