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CNN Sunday Morning
Israelis Continue Siege of Arafat's Compound
Aired September 22, 2002 - 09:01 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The crisis in the Mideast tops our news this hour. There is no letup in the Israeli military siege of Yasser Arafat's West Bank headquarters. The compound is now virtually demolished. But Arafat remains inside still, in a small office building that is still standing. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Ramallah. He joins us with an update on the siege. Hello, Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. Yes, the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat still inside what remains of what was once the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority here in Ramallah.
Now, throughout the day, we've seen fairly steady activity by large backhoes, bulldozers and other heavy equipment slowly, gradually but systematically destroying the buildings behind me. I am going to just step out of the way for a moment.
What you can see at this point is that they have put around the building in which Mr. Arafat is some very large rows of barbed wire. There are essentially two rows, one on the outer perimeter of the compound, another around Arafat's building. This would seem to indicate that they're -- the Israeli forces are going to be in Ramallah for quite some time.
Now, we're hearing from inside the headquarters that the situation is becoming somewhat dire. I spoke to Saeb Erakat, who is the chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, who I must say is not in the building, but he says that he's being told by people inside that they're running low on food and medicine. They've been trying, with some cooperation from the Israelis, to repair a water main that supplies water to the building in which Mr. Arafat is located, but apparently those efforts to repair the water pipe are not going ahead very well.
Now, earlier we also spoke with the senior Palestinian official who said that he had been in touch with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, with the Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, as well as with the defense minister, and he warned the Israelis that if Mr. Arafat comes to any harm, there could be serious and negative repercussions, not only here but throughout the Middle East as well.
Now, the whole purpose of this operation, according to Israeli officials, is to get the surrender of 50 people they say are inside the building with Mr. Arafat and they say who have been involved in terrorist attacks against Israel -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Ben Wedeman in Ramallah. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 22, 2002 - 09:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The crisis in the Mideast tops our news this hour. There is no letup in the Israeli military siege of Yasser Arafat's West Bank headquarters. The compound is now virtually demolished. But Arafat remains inside still, in a small office building that is still standing. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Ramallah. He joins us with an update on the siege. Hello, Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. Yes, the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat still inside what remains of what was once the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority here in Ramallah.
Now, throughout the day, we've seen fairly steady activity by large backhoes, bulldozers and other heavy equipment slowly, gradually but systematically destroying the buildings behind me. I am going to just step out of the way for a moment.
What you can see at this point is that they have put around the building in which Mr. Arafat is some very large rows of barbed wire. There are essentially two rows, one on the outer perimeter of the compound, another around Arafat's building. This would seem to indicate that they're -- the Israeli forces are going to be in Ramallah for quite some time.
Now, we're hearing from inside the headquarters that the situation is becoming somewhat dire. I spoke to Saeb Erakat, who is the chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, who I must say is not in the building, but he says that he's being told by people inside that they're running low on food and medicine. They've been trying, with some cooperation from the Israelis, to repair a water main that supplies water to the building in which Mr. Arafat is located, but apparently those efforts to repair the water pipe are not going ahead very well.
Now, earlier we also spoke with the senior Palestinian official who said that he had been in touch with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, with the Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, as well as with the defense minister, and he warned the Israelis that if Mr. Arafat comes to any harm, there could be serious and negative repercussions, not only here but throughout the Middle East as well.
Now, the whole purpose of this operation, according to Israeli officials, is to get the surrender of 50 people they say are inside the building with Mr. Arafat and they say who have been involved in terrorist attacks against Israel -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Ben Wedeman in Ramallah. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
