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CNN Sunday Morning

Fighting Continues in Jenin Refugee Camp

Aired April 07, 2002 - 10:01   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: Now back to the Middle East and the West Bank, where an Israeli Army spokesperson says combat will end soon in Jenin, but troops aren't leaving. CNN's Rula Amin joins me live now from that area to give me the latest -- Rula.

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we're standing here on the outskirts of Jenin just about three to four miles away from Jenin refugee camp, which had witnessed some of the fiercest battles between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen. Now if I move away from the shot, you will be able to see across the field. You will see a row of houses, and that is Jenin refugee camp.

It's spread about on less than a mile square. It's a home for 15,000 Palestinians. Israeli Army saying they are -- this operation is under way in order to hunt Palestinian militants responsible for many of the suicide attacks against Israeli civilians in the last few months. Now, what we are hearing from inside the camp from Palestinians inside the camp, that there are fierce gun battles going on, a lot of damage, and a lot of destruction. Eyewitnesses we have spoken to from inside the camp say the Israeli Army have brought in bulldozers in order to knock down houses.

Some houses have been already knocked down. The Army, the soldiers are moving from one house to another. By knocking down the walls between the houses, this is -- the soldiers it seems, are trying to avoid walking in the alleys of this crowded refugee camp where Palestinian militants have been taking a refuge (ph) and they are actually putting up very strong resistance. According to the Israeli army, about seven Israeli soldiers -- seven Israeli soldiers so far have been killed in Jenin.

Palestinian officials say, more than 70 Palestinians were killed in this operation, including many civilians. Now, it's very hard to verify the numbers because journalists are not allowed in. Also ambulances have not been able to get into the camp. Many are wounded and have not been able to get any kind of medical help -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Rula, you say that you're not allowed into the area, is that due to safety concerns, or do you feel that this is an issue of censorship?

AMIN: Well, the official version that we are getting is that this is for the journalist's safety. Also that if the journalists are around, the Israeli soldiers would be hesitant to shoot and they want to give them as much room as possible to act freely without having to be restricted by concerns that they would be hitting journalists.

However, the journalists have been protesting that this is actually some kind of censorship because it's preventing us from seeing what is happening there. We really don't have much information on what's happening there except from foreign (ph) conversations that we have been doing with the eyewitnesses from -- with residents in the camp who are very scared, who have been appealing to us, to many other journalists saying you have to come and see what's happening. They say a lot of destruction and there are a lot of people who have been killed -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Rula Amin, thank you very much.

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