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CNN Sunday Morning
Hamas, Islamic Jihad Announce Cease-Fire
Aired June 29, 2003 - 09:54 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.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: There's been some news on the Middle Eastern front, very significant news. Spokespeople for Hamas and Islamic Jihad have recently both announced that they will suspend their attacks against Israel for a three-month period. In return, they're asking the Israelis for targeted killing of Hamas militants and other wanted militants.
With this, we're joined by CNN's Matthew Chance on the phone from the Middle East. Matthew, a major development, it appears that a truce is at least beginning.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly that's the announcement we've had coming to us, within the last few minutes, in fact, Kris, from the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
They released a statement here in Gaza from where I'm speaking to you right now, saying that they are stopping their military activities against Israelis for a period of three months. We presume, from the statement, the way it was phrased, that means all Israelis, not just the Israelis in Israel itself, but also the Jewish settlers who are living in settlements in occupied Palestinian land.
They put a number of conditions on that suspension of their violence against Israelis, though, saying they wanted the Israeli armed forces to take action as well. As you mentioned, they want the Israeli armed forces to suspend their incursions, their interventions inside Palestinian territories, they want the Israeli army to strop destroying homes of suspected militants. That's something the Israeli army does a great deal of as a form of deterrence to people carrying out attacks against Israelis.
They also say, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that they want an end of all closure of areas of Gaza. Now, that means they want the checkpoints that intersect Gaza taken away, the Israeli checkpoints, to allow freedom of movement for ordinary Palestinians to be able to take place.
Another condition they put on this, was an end to the siege of the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, who is, of course, basically confined to his presidential, you know, accommodations in the West Bank city of Ramallah. They want that to end.
They also say they want the release of all Palestinian prisoners, not just in administrative detention. There are nearly 1,000 Palestinians being held by Israelis without any charge being leveled against them, but other Palestinians as well, that Israeli has taken into its custody and perhaps charged, even sentenced, with offenses against Israelis. It wants those people to be released as well.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, again, saying that this is for a period of three months. And if their conditions are not met, though, their cease-fire will not hold.
OSBORN: CNN's Matthew Chance live on the phone from Gaza on this very fast-moving story. 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 June 29, 2003 - 09:54 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: There's been some news on the Middle Eastern front, very significant news. Spokespeople for Hamas and Islamic Jihad have recently both announced that they will suspend their attacks against Israel for a three-month period. In return, they're asking the Israelis for targeted killing of Hamas militants and other wanted militants.
With this, we're joined by CNN's Matthew Chance on the phone from the Middle East. Matthew, a major development, it appears that a truce is at least beginning.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly that's the announcement we've had coming to us, within the last few minutes, in fact, Kris, from the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
They released a statement here in Gaza from where I'm speaking to you right now, saying that they are stopping their military activities against Israelis for a period of three months. We presume, from the statement, the way it was phrased, that means all Israelis, not just the Israelis in Israel itself, but also the Jewish settlers who are living in settlements in occupied Palestinian land.
They put a number of conditions on that suspension of their violence against Israelis, though, saying they wanted the Israeli armed forces to take action as well. As you mentioned, they want the Israeli armed forces to suspend their incursions, their interventions inside Palestinian territories, they want the Israeli army to strop destroying homes of suspected militants. That's something the Israeli army does a great deal of as a form of deterrence to people carrying out attacks against Israelis.
They also say, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that they want an end of all closure of areas of Gaza. Now, that means they want the checkpoints that intersect Gaza taken away, the Israeli checkpoints, to allow freedom of movement for ordinary Palestinians to be able to take place.
Another condition they put on this, was an end to the siege of the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, who is, of course, basically confined to his presidential, you know, accommodations in the West Bank city of Ramallah. They want that to end.
They also say they want the release of all Palestinian prisoners, not just in administrative detention. There are nearly 1,000 Palestinians being held by Israelis without any charge being leveled against them, but other Palestinians as well, that Israeli has taken into its custody and perhaps charged, even sentenced, with offenses against Israelis. It wants those people to be released as well.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, again, saying that this is for a period of three months. And if their conditions are not met, though, their cease-fire will not hold.
OSBORN: CNN's Matthew Chance live on the phone from Gaza on this very fast-moving story. 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
