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CNN Saturday Morning News

Ramallah Residents Remain Under Curfew

Aired April 20, 2002 - 09:10   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: Meantime in Ramallah, Israeli tanks and troops remain on patrol, and a curfew is in place for residents of the West Bank town. What impact has the curfew had on the people and that economy? CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson takes a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): They're still there, she says, pointing toward soldiers. Already, outside, men assure her the curfew is lifted.

And so it begins. The people, who are the lifeblood of this town, flood back on its streets. For some, a chance to sit in the sun for the first time in four days. For others, like Intisah (ph), time to count the cost of the Israeli army occupation.

"They knocked down my kitchen," she says. "And now I'm taking my six children. We'll go and live with my parents."

Jameel (ph) uses his first moments free from the confines of his home to secure his brother's house. He says Israeli soldiers broke into to search.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's sick of it. I mean, it's not a life. We are human beings. They can't continue doing this to us. We need our freedom.

ROBERTSON: For most, however, priority is a rush to the stores for supplies. In the vegetable market, trade is brisk. Boxes of fresh produce to be sold in five hours before everyone must be back in their houses.

For Abu Jamal (ph), the first time he has been able to trade for days. "I'm only working one or two days a week," he says. "I'm losing money."

Fifteen miles away in Jerusalem, and trade on this eve of the sabbath in the market where a suicide bomber struck is also brisk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bombers won't stop us from coming to the market, and it won't change our lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The alternative is, I guess, staying locked up in your house all day. So you have to do things, you have to go on living.

ROBERTSON: With his son in the Israeli army in Ramallah, this trader, Ronnie (ph), says...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want peace. It's good for everything. The business, the work, the -- our children.

ROBERTSON: Back across the check point that prevents Ramallah's residents from reaching Jerusalem, we ask should Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat meet Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's demand? The men responsible for killing an Israeli minister be handed over so the curfew and occupation can be ended permanently? At his brother's house, Jameel (ph) first.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Because they have already an agreement, and the agreement says that we can't give any prisoner back to the Israelis. They are going to charge him over here.

ROBERTSON: In the market, trader Abu Jamal (ph). "No, no, we can't do this," he says.

And lastly, just before she leaves, Intisah (ph). "No, no, no. To succumb to Sharon and hand over the prisoners, this I can never accept," she says, "despite our suffering."

(on camera): No one here quite knows for sure when the curfew will be lifted next time. Given the glacial pace and the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of relations here, it seems improbable leaders are about to change their positions quickly, making it highly likely the closure of this town will last for some time to come.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Ramallah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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