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CNN Sunday Morning
Suicide Bomber Ignites Major Blaze at West Bank Gas Station
Aired October 27, 2002 - 08:09 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.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: In the West Bank today, a suicide bomber kills two people near a gas station, igniting a major blaze. Nineteen were injured, many of them Israeli soldiers. CNN's Jerrold Kessel joins us now from Jerusalem with the latest -- Jerrold.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Arthel, the cleanup work continuing here and the forensic men have been and gone, and now the final cleanup of this incident here a few hours ago in which three Israelis are now being confirmed to have been killed by the suicide bomber; another 19 wounded, one of whom is in critical condition, a number in serious condition.
But Israelis, because of the ongoing Palestinian attacks, have become accustomed to keeping their eyes peeled for any suspicious -- what they call a suspicious movement or potential bombers, and that's apparently what happened today. People were on alert, and that may have averted a much more serious incident than even took place here, because apparently, Israeli civilians here in the area -- this is at the foot of one of the major Jewish settlements, the town of Ariel on the West Bank -- alerted a group of soldiers who were in the area that come to the gas station, stopping off on their way to deployment in the West Bank, and they alerted them to a man who had been acting very suspiciously. Two of the soldiers apparently approached him.
It is not clear what happened then, but apparently they opened fire on the man, and then the explosion took place. Whether because of the shots that ignited the bomb on him or whether he managed, the suicide bomber, to set off the explosives, even though he had been hit, is not yet clear. But the explosion was a loud one, an enormous one, in fact, and three Israelis were killed and 19 wounded in this latest incident. This comes just as there was -- the Israeli government of Ariel Sharon was teetering on the brink of a potential political crisis built over the question of the settlements with the Labor opposition headed by the defense minister, Mr. Ben-Eliezer, telling Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that it wanted major cuts in the spending on settlements in the next year's state budget, or otherwise Labor would leave the government.
Mr. Sharon taking a firm stand, saying the Labor Party must support the shape of the budget as it is now, or he would have to let them leave the government. And that crisis remains intact, but it could be set aside now as a result of this latest incident here on the West Bank. Indeed, just below one of the major Jewish settlements, in which three Israelis have been killed and 19 wounded.
NEVILLE: Jerrold Kessel, live from Jerusalem, thank you very much.
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 October 27, 2002 - 08:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: In the West Bank today, a suicide bomber kills two people near a gas station, igniting a major blaze. Nineteen were injured, many of them Israeli soldiers. CNN's Jerrold Kessel joins us now from Jerusalem with the latest -- Jerrold.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Arthel, the cleanup work continuing here and the forensic men have been and gone, and now the final cleanup of this incident here a few hours ago in which three Israelis are now being confirmed to have been killed by the suicide bomber; another 19 wounded, one of whom is in critical condition, a number in serious condition.
But Israelis, because of the ongoing Palestinian attacks, have become accustomed to keeping their eyes peeled for any suspicious -- what they call a suspicious movement or potential bombers, and that's apparently what happened today. People were on alert, and that may have averted a much more serious incident than even took place here, because apparently, Israeli civilians here in the area -- this is at the foot of one of the major Jewish settlements, the town of Ariel on the West Bank -- alerted a group of soldiers who were in the area that come to the gas station, stopping off on their way to deployment in the West Bank, and they alerted them to a man who had been acting very suspiciously. Two of the soldiers apparently approached him.
It is not clear what happened then, but apparently they opened fire on the man, and then the explosion took place. Whether because of the shots that ignited the bomb on him or whether he managed, the suicide bomber, to set off the explosives, even though he had been hit, is not yet clear. But the explosion was a loud one, an enormous one, in fact, and three Israelis were killed and 19 wounded in this latest incident. This comes just as there was -- the Israeli government of Ariel Sharon was teetering on the brink of a potential political crisis built over the question of the settlements with the Labor opposition headed by the defense minister, Mr. Ben-Eliezer, telling Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that it wanted major cuts in the spending on settlements in the next year's state budget, or otherwise Labor would leave the government.
Mr. Sharon taking a firm stand, saying the Labor Party must support the shape of the budget as it is now, or he would have to let them leave the government. And that crisis remains intact, but it could be set aside now as a result of this latest incident here on the West Bank. Indeed, just below one of the major Jewish settlements, in which three Israelis have been killed and 19 wounded.
NEVILLE: Jerrold Kessel, live from Jerusalem, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
