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CNN Saturday Morning News

Death Toll Climbs in Ramallah Onslaught

Aired March 30, 2002 - 08:02   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Israel says its assault on Yasser Arafat's compound is part of an extensive operation that will continue for some time. It's in response to the latest deadly attacks by Palestinian militants. But Arafat calls it "the real terrorism of occupation." He remains trapped inside his compound, surrounded by Israeli tanks and troops.

CNN's Michael Holmes is live on the phone now from Ramallah with the latest -- Michael.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I have some new information for you, certainly, as it applies to the death toll her in Ramallah. I am actually, literally, standing in a room with five dead Palestinian gunmen who have been shot in a -- what is an office block. The British Consul is in here. There's a restaurant. There's Western Union in this building. The five appeared to have been there for -- living there for some time. There's like a small living quarters, which is right next to some dental chair, dental surgeries there.

The five men all clustered together have been shot at very close range. Two of them in the head, one in the back of the head, another was shot in the back. They are very close together. It would require a forensics team to work out what exactly happened. But there are dozens and dozens of shell casings there. So we can add another five to the death toll -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Michael, and this is obviously more violence. The violence is continuing. Yet, on the other side of things, there is the U.N. Security Council vote that came through. Is this going to have any impact at all on what is happening right now?

HOLMES: Not from where I stand. Others in other cities around the region might be able to answer that question better. We've just come -- we reported to you earlier on a fierce battle that took place overnight in the center of Ramallah. We've just come around the corner to where these bodies are, from that site. And Israeli troops are still there. We watched as an APC drove the front of the building into a foyer area and let out a sustained blast of fire. Troops obviously still think that there may be some holed outs in that building and they're pouring a lot of ammunition into there now.

An interesting thing from this scene that I'm at now is, as I said, there are dozens and dozens of shell casings. The vast majority, in fact, almost all of those shell casings are from M-16s, which is the usual weapon of the Israel Army. We found maybe half a dozen shells from AK-47s, which is what you normally see Palestinian gunmen using. It's a very curious scene.

Obviously, these were, however, people who were fighting because they were wearing Army uniforms or green uniforms anyway. One of them was not, four of them were. So the death toll now heading towards a dozen at last count, by my reckoning.

As far as the political scene goes, Yasser Arafat still in his compound. We just left a hospital where a group of doctors are planning to march down there to offer medical treatment to those inside who may need it. They're not likely to get in. I can tell that -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Michael, any sense on what is -- what could happen to Yasser Arafat? Do you think that he's going to come out of this alive? You're there with the Israeli troops and you're seeing the violence continue.

HOLMES: I would -- I mean it's really something I can't speculate on. I -- all I can say is that Israel has said very plainly he won't be hurt in a physical sense anyway. He has not been hurt in a physical sense. He is about as surrounded as you can get. Tanks at the bottom of the stairs leading to his office, but troops have not, we're told, entered that building. And according to Israel, there are no plans to at this stage. They certainly have entered the compound. They are -- they are all over the compound and in total control of it.

I am told there are still dozens of people in the buildings, Palestinian Authority officials and the like. And so, what happens next, it's hard to tell. There is a standoff. Israel says it wants Yasser Arafat to make certain promises to clean up militant activity. He says it's pretty hard to do that from an office with a tank at the bottom of the stairs -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Michael Holmes live from Ramallah, thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: President Bush is spending the holiday weekend at his ranch in Texas. Obviously, he's closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East as we are. CNN's White House correspondent Major Garrett joining us form Crawford, Texas with an update.

Good morning, Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. Yes, the president monitoring things here from his Crawford, Texas ranch. We've been driven indoors by some pretty nasty here in Crawford. And the president's keeping in touch with his secretary of state, Colin Powell, and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

And as the United States dealt with that U.N. resolution, it basically, more or less, decided that the resolution was pretty close to what the United States had said about the Israeli incursion into Ramallah on yesterday. That is to say, Yasser Arafat should come to no personal harm, that the incursion by the Israeli defense forces should not last forever, that it should have an endpoint and that it should focus entirely on terrorists and do everything possible to avoid Palestinian civilian casualties.

Secretary of State Powell outlined some of the U.S. concerns at the State Department yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We call on Prime Minister Sharon and his government to carefully consider the consequences of those actions.

Chairman Arafat is the leader of the Palestinian people, and his leadership is now even more central to trying to find a way out of this tragic situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: The key phrase there, Miles, is that he remains a central figure. That is to say, Yasser Arafat. That is a U.S. rejection of the Israeli government's declaration of Yasser Arafat as an enemy of the state.

That's worth pointing out, Miles, that privately, senior U.S. officials that CNN has spoken with really can't explain what they think is the ultimate and specific military goal of this incursion in Ramallah. They understand the Israeli government has to respond to the series of suicide bombing attacks against it. The U.S. government is really not sure exactly where this military incursion is heading, would like to see it end sooner rather than later and that was more or less expressed in that U.N. Security Council Resolution -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Major Garrett with the president in Crawford, Texas. Thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, as Major just mentioned, the U.N. Security Council says Israel should withdraw from Palestinian cities and we're going to talk more about that now, on the Israeli reaction to the U.N. Security Council vote. We join John Vause now from Jerusalem.

Hi John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Well, the Israelis are refusing to withdraw their tanks and their troops from Ramallah as you have been reporting. They say this operation is ongoing. It'll be over when it's over -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, the -- let's talk about the international pressure that's taken place and do you think it's going to have an impact on the Israelis?

VAUSE: A number of senior Israel government officials that we've spoken to with -- over the last couple of hours, basically, are determined for Israel to stand alone on this. They're not going to be swayed by this U.N. council resolution. They say they have a job to do. They say this is an ongoing military operation, along which, has a definite goal, a stated aim and they say that it is to eradicate a terrorist network in Palestine, to try an stop those -- that wave of suicide bombings, which have hit the Israeli people quite hard. Sixty-one suicide bombings in 18 months of fighting.

So they say that this is their campaign. They will run their country as they see fit.

One interesting point, which was made by a -- by one Israel official, he said this is not the Holocaust. He said the Jews are not defenseless now. They -- he said we have an army. We have a powerful army and we will use it. And they -- he said we make no apologies for that -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about withdrawal, John. What's the reality of this?

VAUSE: Well, the reality is that the -- this campaign will continue, it certainly seems, for as long as it takes. It's not over until it's over. We understand that there is a chance that the Israeli Security Cabinet is meeting today to try and discuss further action. We've seen even more action in Ramallah, as you've just heard from Michael Holmes.

There was another incursion -- oh, another military operation this morning in the Palestinian town of Beit Jala. Tanks and troops moved in there. They occupied that territory for quite some -- for a few hours. They then withdrew and -- the Israeli defense forces. That was in response to what they say was the Palestinian mortar attack on the Israeli settlement of Gilo. So this is ongoing.

The Israelis have called up 20,000 reservists. Ariel Sharon has warned the Israeli people that this will take some time, that it is complicated, that it is difficult and that this campaign is one, which the Israeli people, he said, they must do -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John Vause live from Jerusalem, thank you so much.

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