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CNN Sunday Morning
Crisis in the Middle East
Aired February 22, 2004 - 09:38 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: As we've been reporting, the world court will begin hearing tomorrow on the legality of Israel's controversial security barrier. The barrier divides Israel from the West Bank and creates a lot of ill feelings between Israelis and Palestinians. CNN's Ben Wedeman looks at Palestinian families caught in the middle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An Israeli soldier unlocks the gate outside the Palestinian village of Jayous. A gate in Israel's controversial security barrier. It opens for an hour three times a day, in the morning, at noon, and before sunset. Most of the farmland that belongs to the Jayous is on the other side. To reach it, these farmers must obtain special permits from the Israeli army. Sharif, the biggest landowner in Jayous, couldn't get a permit for security reasons, he told us. Like many Palestinians, Sharif doubts Israel's claim the fence was built to stop suicide bombers.
SHARIF UMR, PALESTINIAN FARMER: It is not for security. It is only to confiscate land and to steal the water.
WEDEMAN: That hasn't happened yet, but that's not stopping Sharif from traveling to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where he'll testify against the barrier.
Spring has come early to this valley. Rainfall has been plentiful, temperatures mild. The farmers say it could be a very good year. But their land is hemmed in between the new barrier on one side and an older one on the other.
WEDEMAN (on-camera): This is the other fence that divides Israelis from Palestinians, running along the so-called Green Line, which separates Israel proper from the West Bank. The Palestinian farmers in this area say that if a barrier had to be built, it should have been built here, not well inside their land.
WEDEMAN (voice over): Israeli officials insist that old boundary means little. Their priority, security.
LT. COL. SHAI BROVENDEER, ISRAELI ARMY: Well, the fence was built in a security view. We built the fence in places that we can protect the Israeli civilians and protect Israel the best way. And if it's on the 67 line, if it's not on the 67 line, it wasn't an issue.
WEDEMAN: But it's an issue for the farmers. Worried Israel will, once again, use security as a pretext to confiscate their land.
Nima Abu Sharab says her family has always grazed their sheep in this fertile valley. They have a home in nearby Jayous, but Nima and her husband have chosen to live in a makeshift shelter to tend their flock. For Nima, another invisible barrier divides Palestinians and Israelis.
NIMA ABU SHARAB, FARMER (through translator): We used to come and go as we pleased.
WEDEMAN: She says, I even used to get rides from Israelis. Not anymore. Now they don't trust us, and we don't trust them.
Sufian Abu Khadr was also denied a permit for security reasons. An Israeli lawyer is pleading his case. Sufian and his brothers are practical men with practical concerns, and have lost faith in leaders on both sides of the fence.
SUFIAN ABU KHADR, FARMER: It means nothing. We call Mr. Sharon to solve our problem? What I want is to improve our land.
WEDEMAN: Late in the day a shepherd and his flock pass through the gates towards Jayous, anxious not to be caught between the lines in this never-ending conflict.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jayous on the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 February 22, 2004 - 09:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: As we've been reporting, the world court will begin hearing tomorrow on the legality of Israel's controversial security barrier. The barrier divides Israel from the West Bank and creates a lot of ill feelings between Israelis and Palestinians. CNN's Ben Wedeman looks at Palestinian families caught in the middle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An Israeli soldier unlocks the gate outside the Palestinian village of Jayous. A gate in Israel's controversial security barrier. It opens for an hour three times a day, in the morning, at noon, and before sunset. Most of the farmland that belongs to the Jayous is on the other side. To reach it, these farmers must obtain special permits from the Israeli army. Sharif, the biggest landowner in Jayous, couldn't get a permit for security reasons, he told us. Like many Palestinians, Sharif doubts Israel's claim the fence was built to stop suicide bombers.
SHARIF UMR, PALESTINIAN FARMER: It is not for security. It is only to confiscate land and to steal the water.
WEDEMAN: That hasn't happened yet, but that's not stopping Sharif from traveling to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where he'll testify against the barrier.
Spring has come early to this valley. Rainfall has been plentiful, temperatures mild. The farmers say it could be a very good year. But their land is hemmed in between the new barrier on one side and an older one on the other.
WEDEMAN (on-camera): This is the other fence that divides Israelis from Palestinians, running along the so-called Green Line, which separates Israel proper from the West Bank. The Palestinian farmers in this area say that if a barrier had to be built, it should have been built here, not well inside their land.
WEDEMAN (voice over): Israeli officials insist that old boundary means little. Their priority, security.
LT. COL. SHAI BROVENDEER, ISRAELI ARMY: Well, the fence was built in a security view. We built the fence in places that we can protect the Israeli civilians and protect Israel the best way. And if it's on the 67 line, if it's not on the 67 line, it wasn't an issue.
WEDEMAN: But it's an issue for the farmers. Worried Israel will, once again, use security as a pretext to confiscate their land.
Nima Abu Sharab says her family has always grazed their sheep in this fertile valley. They have a home in nearby Jayous, but Nima and her husband have chosen to live in a makeshift shelter to tend their flock. For Nima, another invisible barrier divides Palestinians and Israelis.
NIMA ABU SHARAB, FARMER (through translator): We used to come and go as we pleased.
WEDEMAN: She says, I even used to get rides from Israelis. Not anymore. Now they don't trust us, and we don't trust them.
Sufian Abu Khadr was also denied a permit for security reasons. An Israeli lawyer is pleading his case. Sufian and his brothers are practical men with practical concerns, and have lost faith in leaders on both sides of the fence.
SUFIAN ABU KHADR, FARMER: It means nothing. We call Mr. Sharon to solve our problem? What I want is to improve our land.
WEDEMAN: Late in the day a shepherd and his flock pass through the gates towards Jayous, anxious not to be caught between the lines in this never-ending conflict.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jayous on the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
