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Your World Today
Three Palestinians Killed in West Bank Shooting; Gaza Pullout in Full Swing; Bombings in Iraq Kill At Least 43
Aired August 17, 2005 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Israel takes on its own. A landmark withdrawal deals a hammer blow to Jewish settlers.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Proclaiming victory from the rooftops. Palestinians raising their flags in celebration.
VERJEE: The face of misery in Iraq. Scores die in yet another massive car bomb attack.
CLANCY: And the woman who is bringing the pain of Iraq home to roost for the U.S. president.
VERJEE: It's 7:00 p.m. in Gaza. It's 11:00 a.m. in Crawford, Texas.
I'm Zain Verjee.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. Welcome to our viewers throughout the world. This is CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.
VERJEE: We begin with new developments in Gaza and the West Bank on the first day of Israel's forced evacuation of settlers.
CLANCY: Israeli police are at this hour investigating a deadly shooting in the West Bank. Three Palestinians killed. A Jewish man grabbed a gun from a guard and opened fire on Palestinians, Palestinians he had just been shuttling into the Shilo settlement for work. Shilo is not among the four West Bank settlements being evacuated as part of Israel's withdrawal.
VERJEE: In Gaza, meantime, Israeli troops carrying out the forced evacuation of settlers encountered some resistance but no serious violence. Unarmed Israeli troops entered 10 settlements on Wednesday, going into homes, schools, even synagogues to take people away.
CLANCY: Many settlers were seen weeping. Some screamed out as soldiers dragged them from their homes. The military says about 60 percent of the settlers are now out of Gaza.
VERJEE: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is urging those who are still there not to clash with soldiers. He says he is responsible for the withdrawal and any anger should be directed toward him. CLANCY: Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, assaying now that the shooting on the West Bank was a move aimed to undermine the Gaza withdrawal.
Paula Hancocks joins us from Jerusalem with an update on those shootings -- Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Jim.
Well, what we know is just a couple of hours ago in a West Bank settlement of Shilo, about 20 miles north of Jerusalem, a settler opened fire on Palestinians, killing three and injuring two. One seriously.
Now, the driver, he was an Israeli driver who used to shuttle Palestinians to and from their work in the industrial zone in Shilo settlement. He's stopped by a guard soldier, got out of his car, and took his gun, turning the gun on his two Palestinian passengers, killing them both. He then turned to the industrial zone and opened fire, killing another Palestinian and injuring two.
Now, he's a 40-year-old driver. We know he's a father of two. And he came from a settlement very close by to Shilo called the Shevut Reshel (ph).
We also know we have a reaction from Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, calling on the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, to disarm settlers. He condemned this incident in the strongest possible terms and asks him to do anything he can in order to stop these terrorist attacks.
Now, we have already had reaction as well from two Islamic militant groups in Gaza. Hamas has said that they would react. But Islamic Jihad, another militant group, has said that they would not react on Israelis in Gaza, but they would react in the West Bank.
Now, Ariel Sharon has said that he would not carry out this evacuation of all the settlements under fire from Gaza -- Jim.
CLANCY: All right. Paula Hancocks reporting to us there live from Jerusalem -- Zain.
VERJEE: Jim, meanwhile, Israeli has been pitted against Israeli as troops began the forced removal of intransigent Jewish settlers. They were met with tears and anger as they entered six settlements forcing their way into homes, schools, and even synagogues to fulfill their mission.
Guy Raz joins us now with more on that -- Guy.
GUY RAZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Zain, a day of contrast here in the Gaza settlements. At times, Israeli soldiers clashing with settlers. At other times, those same soldiers embracing the settlers. But if there was ever any doubt in the minds of the settlers over the plausibility of the evacuation process, that doubt has now been quashed. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAZ (voice over): The moment both soldiers and settlers dreaded now under way in earnest. Struggles were expected. So was the resistance and the arrests. But in the end, those who chose to stay and resist were no match for the thousands of Israeli soldiers.
Some burnt barricades, a futile attempt to stop Israeli's military machine. Others hurled abuse at the soldiers they once regarded as heroes. Torn clothing, the symbol of death in Jewish tradition, worn by the most distraught.
In the synagogue, thousands of defiant youngsters milled about, waiting for the inevitable evacuation. These were once the political children of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Today, the prime minister was called a Nazi by the very same people who once celebrated him.
"Hurt me," the prime minister appealed in a televised news conference. "I am responsible for this. I will take the blame," he said. "But do not attack the soldiers and police."
The scenes were dramatic on the fist day of evacuation. But surprisingly, the army says things were calmer than expected, with an estimated 60 percent of the settlers already out.
For now, it's still a low intensity standoff, but an emotional test for both soldiers and settlers, brothers, but now opponents as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAZ: Zain, today the tactic was persuasion rather than force. The Israeli army says hundreds of families have already left on their own will. And the army says if it continues at this pace, they will finish the disengagement process long before scheduled -- Zain.
VERJEE: Guy Raz reporting.
Thanks, Guy.
Of course the situation in Gaza's being closely followed in the United States. The U.S. has the most Jewish citizens of any country and contributes the most aid to the state of Israel. Nearly every secular Jewish group in the U.S. has lined up in favor of the Gaza pullout.
Now, polls show that most individual U.S. Jews support the move and they've accepted the idea of a Palestinian state. Two Americans are also helping coordinate the Gaza pullout. Lieutenant General William Ward is helping the Palestinian security services to take over Gaza, while James Wolfensohn's dealing with the Gaza's economics and its security.
CLANCY: Well, Palestinians living near Jewish settlements in Gaza have a front-row seat to the evacuation, and the turmoil that's gone with it.
Ben Wedeman is near the Khan Yunis refugee camp. He is also alongside one of the biggest settlements in Gaza.
Ben, what does the scene look like?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, we are right in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, overlooking the Gush Katif settlement bloc. Now, what's interesting, we've been watching a scene playing out behind us.
There was an Israeli tank back there. And young children were throwing rocks at it. The Israeli tank shot off quite a few rounds of warning to get them to leave, but the tank has now left and the children are approaching the fence.
Now, you can probably hear. That is gunfire coming from -- well, honestly, it's not easy to tell. But this is a scene that has been played out here in Khan Yunis time and time again. And this is one of the reasons why the Israelis decided it simply was too costly to maintain these settlements here.
Now, as you can see, the children have now taken up -- taken over the position where the tank used to be. I think that was gunfire coming from within the settlement itself.
More gunfire. The children moving back. Some of that gunfire's coming from closer into this area.
There are Israeli observation towers all around here, all around the perimeter. And here you really see the contrast between how people live in this refugee camp, one of the poorest in Gaza and a somewhat higher standard, dramatically higher standards of living within the Gush Katif settlement itself. Basically, the contrast between the third world on this side, and the first world over there -- Jim.
CLANCY: Ben, those shots that are being fired, we've seen the children now retreat about, what, 100 meters across the sand dunes there. Obviously, it would appear -- it's like you say, it's impossible to tell -- that they were really being driven off by some gunfire.
WEDEMAN: Well, initially, they kept a distance from the tank. Then they rushed up to where the tank used to be.
And this is really this cat and mouse game that we've seen throughout the intifadah. And obviously this is just a different level altogether from the armed gunmen of Hamas and Islamic Jihad who have carried out attacks on the Jewish settlements and on the Israeli army in this area. But just another headache that the Israelis have had to deal with over the years -- Jim.
CLANCY: Ben Wedeman reporting to us there live from Gaza.
Thanks, Ben. VERJEE: For the Israeli perspective now on the Gaza withdrawal, we're joined by Israel's foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, live from Jerusalem.
Mr. Shalom, thanks so much for being with us on our show.
Your reaction, first, to the shooting in Shilo in the West Bank, where a Jewish gunman killed three Palestinians?
SILVAN SHALOM, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: It's a terrible act, and we are very sorry for that. It's a Jewish person -- we don't know if he's a settler or not -- that has decided to shot a bus that was full with Palestinians.
It might be that it was in order to prevent the implementation of the disengagement from Gaza. But I think that today we are determined to move forward. We are doing everything we can in order to implement the disengagement, and to do it in a way that will be with full understanding to the plain, full situation that the settlers have. And many, many Israelis feel today very sad about what's going on there.
But we believe that it will -- it might bring us a glimmer of hope for a future. No one can stop it, no matter if it's an Israeli one that is shooting a bus of Palestinians, or there are others that are demonstrating today against the evacuation. We believe it will give us a better future, and of course we would like to do it with the Palestinians, that will move together with us for implementation of the roadmap.
VERJEE: Some of the Gaza settlers are moving to West Bank settlements. Is this a violation of agreements with the Palestinians?
SHALOM: No, there is no agreement with the Palestinians. As you know, it's in route (ph) to our move. And it was an initiative that was taken by the Israeli prime minister and was approved by the Israeli cabinet and by the Israeli Knesset.
But I don't think that the Israeli settlers are moving from Gaza to the West Bank. Most of them will stay very close to the border with Gaza. And I think that we are giving them some solutions.
They are very close to the region because they want to keep their jobs around. So even if there will be a few of them that we move from one way to another, there will be only a few of them. And let's say the majority, most of them, 99 percent of them, will stay within the state of Israel.
VERJEE: Palestinians have been afraid that the Gaza withdrawal is really a strategy by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to fend off international pressure on West Bank settlements and really hold on to its West Bank settlements.
SHALOM: I don't think that they need excuses. I think it's more important that the Palestinians today will focus about what needs to be done to bring better future to the Palestinians themselves, how to build new housing in those settlements that we are evacuating, how to create new jobs for the Palestinians. And I think they will do -- they should do everything they can to ease the life of the Palestinians.
All the other arguments that they are raising, like Israel will leave Gaza in order to keep the West Bank, I don't think that they need to use it. Today they should concentrate. They should focus on the future, how to bring better future to the Palestinians and how to bring peace and quiet to the region, and by that, to bring better future to the Israelis.
And we should do it together. I believe that we are having a very big opportunity. We don't want to lose this opportunity. But like you, the Americans are saying we need to tango (ph).
And I hope that the Palestinians will understand what needs to be done, that they will be very determined to dismantle the extremists. And it will give us the possibility to move immediately to the implementation of the roadmap that might bring an end to the conflict that we are having for so long time.
VERJEE: Israel's foreign minister Silvan Shalom in Jerusalem.
Thank you -- Jim.
CLANCY: All right. We're going to take a short break here. But coming up, we're going to get the Palestinian perspective as well on what has been happening today in Gaza and what will happen tomorrow.
Also, we'll look at some of the top stories from the U.S.
VERJEE: Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Welcome back. You're watching an hour of world news right here on CNN International. If you are joining us in the United States, this is something a little bit new.
We want to bring in some Palestinian perspective now on the Gaza pullout. Diana Buttu, legal adviser to the Palestinian technical team that's been working on Israel's evacuation, joins us now live from Gaza.
Diana, this has been a long time in the making. There have been some discussions that have been going on between Israelis and Palestinians. Now we are learning that some of the Israeli settlers are leaving Gaza to go to the West Bank.
Is it your understanding that this is a violation of agreements with the Israeli side?
DIANA BUTTU, LEGAL ADVISER TO PALESTINIANS: This is not only a violation of agreements with the Israeli side, but this is -- more importantly, it's a violation of international law. We put Israel on notice now for 38 years, and the international community has put Israel on notice now for the past 38 years, stating that these settlements are illegal and that they shouldn't be incentivising Israelis to move into these settlements.
And yet, nonetheless, the Israeli government continues to do this because it's largely gone unpunished by the international community. Rather than the international community punishing Israel, it simply allows Israel to do whatever it wants, and the United States government largely funds this, unfortunately.
CLANCY: Now, the United States government has been criticized by some Arab commentators here on CNN recently as saying that the United States is still sponsoring, is still not putting down any obstacles to the further building of settlements, and this is in violation of its own -- the roadmap to peace. But the Palestinians side would appear to be completely powerless.
BUTTU: Absolutely. Absolutely. This is the entire nature of an occupation, where you've got everything controlled by the -- by the stronger power. And in that case, this is Israel.
The United States government gives Israel $10 million a day. And that $10 million is going to build not only settlements, but bypass roads, and maintain a dual system of laws.
We've asked the United States government in the past to stop funding -- funding Israel's -- Israel's colonization, and yet it continues to do so. And unfortunately, we are at a situation now where, not only is it the United States government that's funding this, but the international community is doing very little to stop this. We have hundreds of Security Council resolutions, scores of general assembly resolutions, and yet nothing is done to actually stop Israel's violations of international law.
CLANCY: A few moments ago, Silvan Shalom told us that it's really time for the Palestinians to pay attention to what's taking place, to seize this opportunity and really set up good governance in Gaza, not only for their own people, but as a show to Israelis and the world that they are capable of doing it.
Do you agree?
BUTTU: Well, I think if you read behind what Silvan Shalom is saying, is that Palestinian freedom is conditional upon good behavior. And that's an idea that is very repugnant.
This is time and again that the Israeli government has always told us what it is that we need to do, rather than actually allowing us do what we need to do. If Israel is really concerned about good governance, and so on and so forth, it should allow the Palestinians to live in freedom, let them establish their state, and allow the Palestinians to finally live in the dignity, respect and freedom that they deserve. It's not up to Israel to...
(CROSSTALK)
CLANCY: But don't you agree, though, that the biggest -- the biggest problem for the Palestinians now is to bring law and order to Gaza, to establish very firmly a system of government there? This is a crucial test.
BUTTU: The biggest problem facing the Palestinians is Israel's ongoing military occupation of the Gaza Strip. Even though the colonization is going to be over, it's the occupation, and that's that system of control that is going to remain.
It's very difficult to establish systems of law and order and so on and so forth when you have another -- another country, another government pulling the strings. And in this case, it's Israel.
CLANCY: But Diana, it's fine...
BUTTU: If we are really interested about law and order, then let's talk...
CLANCY: It's fine to blame somebody else all the time, but it's not going to work when the Palestinians, when the rest of the world looks on at Gaza. If they see chaos, if they see street battles between fatah and Hamas, or Islamic Jihad, this is not what the world needs to see from the Palestinian side.
There's a huge challenge, isn't there? Rather than criticizing Israel, don't the Palestinians need to work on their own house?
BUTTU: Well, the Palestinians have worked on their own house. And if you look at the security services, the security services have largely been destroyed by Israel. But again, Jim, what you are basically saying to me is that for the Palestinians to be given their freedom they have to prove themselves worthy of their freedom, they have to prove themselves that they are going to act in a law -- in a manner of law and order.
If you look at every other colonization, every other oppressed people around the world, all of these people when their oppression has ended, when their colonization has ended, there has always been a bit of chaos. And I wouldn't be surprised if there'll be chaos here, too.
But at the end of the day, we shouldn't be asked in terms of judging whether the Palestinians are worthy of their freedom, that it be conditional. They should be given their freedom nonetheless.
CLANCY: All right. Diana Buttu, I want to thank you very much for being with us here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
VERJEE: We want to take a look now at some of the stories making news here in the United States.
A sentencing hearing is under way for a notorious serial killer in the U.S. Dennis Rader is the so-called BTK killer, short for the -- short for the way he bound, tortured, then killed his 10 victims. Raider confessed that he committed murder to satisfy sexual fantasies. Prosecutors are pushing to keep him in prison for life with no chance of parole. A Texas resident of Crawford has offered his property to an antiwar protest led by the mother of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan has been camped out near President Bush's ranch, demanding to speak to him. The protests have been growing in size, and local residents complained of traffic congestion.
CLANCY: All right. We are going to have more on Cindy Sheehan and her fellow war protesters coming up a little bit later in this program.
VERJEE: What we'd really like, though, is for you to weigh in on this. We want to know what you think. So e-mail us: YWT@CNN.com.
CLANCY: And tell us what you think about the situation that's going on down in Crawford, Texas. There have been so many events around there, and we've got parallels going on across the Atlantic in Britain.
VERJEE: For now though, it's time to take a quick break. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.
We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VERJEE: Let's check in now on what's moving the markets in the U.S.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
CLANCY: Well, we are going to take a short break here. And we will be back.
What do we have? A roundup of the main stories.
VERJEE: Right. And then caught in a deadly crossfire. We are going to be looking at the harsh realities of life for Iraqi civilians.
CLANCY: And also coming up, some disturbing new details emerge about that fatal police shooting in London.
This is CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VERJEE: Hello and welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. I'm Zain Verjee.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. Let's survey the stories that are making headlines around the world now.
VERJEE: Police in the West Bank say three Palestinians were killed when a Jewish driver opened fire. Police say the man grabbed a gun from a guard ask began shooting at Palestinians, who may have just driven into the Shiloh settlement. Shiloh is not among the four West Bank settlements being evacuated as part of Israeli's withdrawal.
CLANCY: Now, the Israeli military says resistance was actually lighter than they expected, as soldiers began removing settlers from Gaza. Unarmed troops entered 10 out of some 21 settlements on Wednesday. They went into homes, schools, even synagogues in some cases, to take people away. Many of the settlers, of course, wept and screamed as they were hauled away to buses. The military says about 60 percent of the settlers are now out of Gaza.
VERJEE: A trio of car bombings in Iraq, two of which exploded at a busy central Baghdad bus station, have killed at least 43 people. The third explosion was reported near Al-Kindi Hospital, where casualties from the other bombings were taken. More than 80 people were wounded.
The constant violence and continuing lack of basic services in Iraq have some of its people in despair. We want to bring that part of the story. Here's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On mornings like this, the politics of Iraq seem irrelevant. A trio of car bombs detonating within minutes of each other in central Baghdad, the first two at the Al-Nahda bus terminal, one of the busiest in the capital. The explosions killed dozens, wounded scores of others.
Moments later, another bomb, this one at the Al-Kindi Hospital, as casualties from the first explosion were being brought in. A coordinated attack and one of the biggest in Iraq in weeks. The pain unbearable, the anger understandable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We want our voices heard by the president and every official to tackle such violence. All those who were killed are innocent people. There were no Americans nor Iraqi troops on the scene.
RAMAN: This is reality for Iraqi civilians. Waking some days to carnage. On most others, facing a continued lack in basic services. There is work being done, reconstruction taking place, but not nearly as quick as anyone here would like. And that is why the extension of the constitutional deadline is so frustrating for the average Iraqi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They give no convincing reason for the delay. They just said we are still in talks. There's no convincing reason compared to what's happening on the Iraqi streets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What a pity, all this delay for nothing. This country is being destroyed daily by explosions with no security. No, we just want it to end.
RAMAN: Under intense scrutiny, Iraqi leaders say they are making progress towards a final compromise. Whether that is truly the case will be known in a matter of days. (on camera): This is Iraq's ongoing duality, forging new political ground while facing sustained security needs. And in the middle, the Iraqi people, eager to put hope in the future, incapable of seeing beyond the difficulties of daily life.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Well the mother of a U.S. soldier who was killed in Iraq has now become a symbol of a growing anti-war movement in the U.S. Cindy Sheehan is her name, and he has been camped out near President Bush's Texas ranch for the past 11 days. She's demanding to speak to him, and in the process, speaking a whole lot more to the media.
Bob Franken is there outside Crawford, Texas. Bob, the situation right now with Cindy Sheehan. We understand she has a new place to stay?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. The people who live around here, many of them had objected, particularly as the number of people who camped out where she was camping out, a couple of miles down the road from the president's ranch -- that number had grown, and the number of news organizations had grown as her individual tragic plight had really caught the imagination of a nation which is questioning to some degree, President Bush's decision to go into Iraq in the first place.
So now, this is come to be something that has caused the neighbors to be unhappy, some because they supported the president's war policies. Others, because they are unhappy with the disruption. Enter a rancher who lives much closer to the president. He said, hey, I support your cause. You can use my property. So they'll be moving in the next day or so. They want to be in place on Friday when there's going to be a memorial service they're conducting outside the president's ranch.
Meanwhile, Cindy Sheehan, who was starting off with what she considered to be a lonely cause, just to insist on a meeting with a president, is expressing quite a bit of amazement as to how this has grown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY SHEEHAN, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: You know, we've had so many people come out here that have said, this is the first time I've ever been involved in any kind of protest, in any kind of peace action. And like I said all along, the movement was there. They were just -- they just wanted a spark. And this is just giving them a chance to gather and let their voices be heard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: Now, on the other side, the president supporters point out that Cindy Sheehan has been quite vocal about her opposition to the war. They also say, and the president says, that while he's sympathetic to the deep emotional feelings she has about the loss of her son, he is not going to change his policies in Iraq. And as for her demand to meet with him, she has met with him, actually, in a group of people who lost loved ones in Iraq. So this is a story where Cindy Sheehan has, at the very least, certainly interrupted to some degree the president's vacation.
CLANCY: Bob, as we look at this story, it seems to have gathered, as you noted there, a life of its own, becoming a little bit larger. Now, some of this may have to do with the fact that the president's approval ratings are down to a lowly 34 percent. Iraq, the number one factor in that. And it would also appear that the supporters of President Bush are coming after Cindy Sheehan. They see her as a fair target now.
FRANKEN: Well, they do. Cindy Sheehan is learning now that when you decide to go into the public eye and into the harsh glare, that your every motivation is going to be questioned. The president's supporters are pointing out that she has been active in what we'll just call the peace movement for quite some time now, and they charge that she may be exploiting her son's death to make the point that she's going to make. They're also planning some counter- demonstrations here.
So this is going now from whatever the private tragedy is, and the story about that, to the inevitable political debate that is following and now has been taken over to large degree by political operatives and public relations representatives.
CLANCY: All right. Outside Crawford, Texas, where the president is vacationing, and our own Bob Franken is not. Very much on the job. Bob, thank you.
VERJEE: And you know, Jim, this isn't just a big U.S. story. It's also got a lot of global attention. Earlier today, I was on an Arab news Web site, and there were a number of things posted there. And this was a story that was commented on. And this is what I read from someone who had posted this: "My heart and respect goes out to Cindy Sheehan. She is the human face not only of America, but of all humanity who love and cherish peace." And Jim, she added that "the honesty and simplicity of her calls will resonate throughout the world. Bush may choose to ignore her, but the world is in sympathy with her."
CLANCY: We're getting some letters, some mail coming in.
On the other side, from a U.S. viewer, one saying, "Cindy needs to go to a girl's school in Iraq and ask them if we did the right thing. It's people's like Cindy's son who have the guts to do the right thing."
We want to know what you think with the Cindy Sheehan story. E- mail us as ywt@CNN.com. We'll share some of your views at the end of our program.
VERJEE: All right. British police are facing acute embarrassing after leaked documents reveal new details in a tragic shooting. They reportedly show that a Brazilian killed on suspicion of being a suicide bomber was not trying to flee when he was shot in the head at point-blank range.
Ray Stewart brings us this exclusive ITV report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAY STEWART, ITV REPORTER: The documents obtained by ITV News shows that John Charles De Menezes' violent death was caused by basic police errors. And it's the man in charge with the police involved, Sir Ian Blair, who's now under the spotlight. Did the metropolitan police chief try to cover up the reasons why an innocent man was shot dead?
The catalog of mistakes started here during a surveillance operation at a block of flats in South London, supposedly containing terror suspects. One officer was supposed the film the suspect if he left the building.
But he didn't get a picture of Mr. De Menezes when he came out the front door. Why? He was otherwise engaged.
"As he walked out of my line of vision, I checked the photographs and transmitted it would be worth somebody else having a look. I should point out, that as I observed, this male exited the block. I was in the process of relieving myself. At this time, I was not able to transmit my observations and switch on the video camera at the same time. There is therefore no video footage of this male."
If he'd managed to get a picture of John Charles, other officers may have realized he wasn't one of the men they wanted. Instead, he was followed to Stockwell Tube Station, where further mistakes were made. Initial police reports suggested he was wearing a suspiciously bulky jacket, that he jumped the ticket barrier and ran on to the train. We now know none of that is true. And as we revealed last night, one officer had Mr. De Menezes under control before he was killed.
"I grabbed the male in the denim jacket by wrapping both my arms around his torso, pinning his arms to his side. I then pushed him back on to the seat where he had been previously sitting. I then heard a gunshot very close to my left ear and dragged away on to the floor of the carriage."
Several shots later, John Charles De Menezes was dead. By why doesn't this tally with what the police claimed at the time? Here's what the police commissioner said soon after the shooting:
SIR IAN BLAIR, LONDON POLICE COMMISSIONER: We have to consider what would have happened if these officers had not shot, and that man had been a suicide bomber and got on the tube.
STEWART: The reality, as we now know, was that Mr. De Menezes was not a suicide bomber. He was, in fact, an innocent victim.
BLAIR: The information I have available is that this shooting is directly linked to the ongoing and expanding anti-terrorist operation.
STEWART: The reality is that the building Mr. De Menezes lived in was under surveillance. The police had the right address, but the wrong man.
BLAIR: As I understand the situation, the man was challenged and refused to obey police instructions.
STEWART: The reality we now know is that no challenges were issued and no instructions given by officers. And it's now emerging that Sir Ian Blair appealed to the government to let the police investigate the shooting rather than outsiders. The home secretary gave a very firm no.
Ray Stewart, ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: An Italian court has granted a British request now to extradite a suspect in the July 21st bombing attempts in London. Those are the ones that failed. In a hearing in Rome, Wednesday, a three-judge panel ruled that Hamdi Issac should be extradited to Britain, but not for another 35 days, allowing investigators in Italy to complete their investigation into terrorism charges there. His lawyer is, of course, likely to appeal the ruling.
VERJEE: Still ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a series of coordinated explosions rock Bangladesh.
CLANCY: Up next, we'll tell you who may have been responsible. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of global news here on CNN International. We've been telling you about the story of a settler on the West Bank who turned his gun on Palestinians there and killed three of them, wounded at least two others. The prime minister of Israel now, Ariel Sharon, weighing in on this matter. He called it Jewish terror that was aimed at stopping the Gaza withdrawal. The prime minister weighing in on that, so, too has the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas, the militant group, is threatening to retaliate on the West Bank for those killings.
We'll continue to follow that story as more developments come in.
Well, hospitals all across Bangladesh are busy treating the wounded and the traumatized victims of -- and this is the correct number, 350 bombings that came all across the country. They were nearly simultaneous. Wire reports say at least one person was killed, 115 other people wounded. An Islamic militant group says it is responsible. Police say the bombs targeted government buildings, the international airport, as well as a major hotel. One Dhaka official says the government had received reports that there were plans for such an attack, but did not believe they would be carried out. VERJEE: Venezuelan investigators are picking through the wreckage of a plane that crashed, killing all 160 on board. The West Caribbean Airways charter flight was en route to Martinique when it went down. The passengers on board were mostly tourists returning from a holiday. Shortly before the crash, the pilot radioed in, saying both engines had failed. It's one of Venezuela's deadliest air disasters.
CLANCY: Let's check stories making news in the United States. Record-breaking gasoline prices fueling inflationary pressure. The Labor Department says the Producer Price Index climbing a full percentage point last month, much more than was anticipated. The core inflation rate -- that excludes food and energy -- was up four-tenths of a percent. Now that is the biggest jump since January.
In Hawaii, clouds of thick dark smoke from a big brush fire have covered parts of Honolulu for the last few days. At last report, the blaze was about 75 percent contained.
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VERJEE: We've got a lot of good e-mail from you. We appreciate that. It's always good to hear from you. We've been asking you what you think about Cindy Sheehan. She's the mother who lost her son in Iraq and has been protesting outside Crawford, in Texas, wanting to meet the president, George W. Bush.
One view is this: "Finally, one brave woman has stood up to this war. She's now in Crawford doing the right thing to end this war that was based on lies."
CLANCY: Also, we're hearing in from other viewers who are saying that they are tired of hearing that President Bush is on vacation. They don't want the reporters to say that anymore. They say that it is far more important that they focus on what is happening now in Iraq.
VERJEE: We just wanted to say, just send us any e-mails if you have a comment on our program or on the stories that we cover here. Ywt@CNN.com.
CLANCY: That's right. You've been watching YOUR WORLD TODAY here on CNN. I'm Jim Clancy.
VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. Thanks for watching.
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