Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Israeli Siege of Arafat's Compound Enters Day Three
Aired September 22, 2002 - 08:06 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: Now let's go to the conflict in the Middle East. There's not much left of Yasser Arafat's presidential headquarters. And there is an Israeli flag flying over the Ramallah compound today.
Israel says it won't harm Arafat, but it's no secret the country hopes to make him uncomfortable that he'll -- uncomfortable enough that he will seek exile.
As the Israeli army siege enters day three, our Ben Wedeman joins us live from Ramallah with the latest. Hello, Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, you can definitely be certain that Mr. Arafat is not comfortable at the moment. Now for three days around the clock 24 hours these Israeli bulldozers and jackhammers and other heavy equipment have been systematically destroying that headquarters.
Now just a little while ago we got off the phone with a senior Palestinian official who said that he had been in contact with the top ministers including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon -- top ministers in the Israeli government -- to warn them that if Mr. Arafat comes in any harm that that could cross a dangerous red line and have negative repercussions throughout the region.
Now, as I said before, the situation here is basically the same -- those bulldozers still going at it -- the jackhammers.
One interesting thing that is going on is that a truck of Palestinian plumbers has shown up. They are here to fix a water main that's supplying water to the building that houses the Palestinian leader. The Israelis have allowed them in there to do that.
Now just behind that truck of plumbers is a very large bit of heavy equipment that's destroying one of those buildings -- so something of an irony. Some might describe it as absurd.
At the same time there is destruction and repair going on in that compound.
Now the Palestinians inside the building say they have no intention of surrendering. Israel says that there are 50 people on their list of wanted terrorists inside that building including four senior Palestinian security officials -- one of whom told us he is not going to surrender. And he says that the purpose of this current operation in his words is to destroy the Palestinian leader. All of their talk of wanted people he says is just nonsense.
Now overnight thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Ramallah and Gaza and other Palestinian cities to protest this operation.
In the course of those demonstrations two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Ramallah, two elsewhere in the West Bank.
Today those demonstrations are continuing in Tulkarem, Hebron and Nablus. In Nablus one of those demonstrators was killed. Miles?
O'BRIEN: CNN's Ben Wedeman in Ramallah. Thank you very much. We 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 - 08:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now let's go to the conflict in the Middle East. There's not much left of Yasser Arafat's presidential headquarters. And there is an Israeli flag flying over the Ramallah compound today.
Israel says it won't harm Arafat, but it's no secret the country hopes to make him uncomfortable that he'll -- uncomfortable enough that he will seek exile.
As the Israeli army siege enters day three, our Ben Wedeman joins us live from Ramallah with the latest. Hello, Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, you can definitely be certain that Mr. Arafat is not comfortable at the moment. Now for three days around the clock 24 hours these Israeli bulldozers and jackhammers and other heavy equipment have been systematically destroying that headquarters.
Now just a little while ago we got off the phone with a senior Palestinian official who said that he had been in contact with the top ministers including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon -- top ministers in the Israeli government -- to warn them that if Mr. Arafat comes in any harm that that could cross a dangerous red line and have negative repercussions throughout the region.
Now, as I said before, the situation here is basically the same -- those bulldozers still going at it -- the jackhammers.
One interesting thing that is going on is that a truck of Palestinian plumbers has shown up. They are here to fix a water main that's supplying water to the building that houses the Palestinian leader. The Israelis have allowed them in there to do that.
Now just behind that truck of plumbers is a very large bit of heavy equipment that's destroying one of those buildings -- so something of an irony. Some might describe it as absurd.
At the same time there is destruction and repair going on in that compound.
Now the Palestinians inside the building say they have no intention of surrendering. Israel says that there are 50 people on their list of wanted terrorists inside that building including four senior Palestinian security officials -- one of whom told us he is not going to surrender. And he says that the purpose of this current operation in his words is to destroy the Palestinian leader. All of their talk of wanted people he says is just nonsense.
Now overnight thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Ramallah and Gaza and other Palestinian cities to protest this operation.
In the course of those demonstrations two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Ramallah, two elsewhere in the West Bank.
Today those demonstrations are continuing in Tulkarem, Hebron and Nablus. In Nablus one of those demonstrators was killed. Miles?
O'BRIEN: CNN's Ben Wedeman in Ramallah. Thank you very much. We 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
