1.
SV Street scenes with Palestinians at work (2 shots)
0.15

2.
SCU Bethlehem mayor Elias Friej speaking
0.23

3.
GV PAN Palestinian demonstrators arrested chased (3 shots)
0.44

4.
GV PAN Israeli Defence Minister Ariel Sharon entering building
0.55

5.
SV PAN & SV Wounded people taken away on stretchers
1.15

6.
SCU Palestinian editor Mamoun Assayed Speaking
2.00

7.
SCU & SV Street scenes, markets (3 shots)
2.13


TRANSCRIPT:



DICKSON (SEQ 1): "Among Palestinians living in the territories, there is no sign of enthusiasm for the autonomy talks. They either go about their lives with apparent indifference, or , as with Bethlehem mayor, Elias Friej, denounce them outright."



ELIAS FRIEJ (SEQ 2): "As far as the autonomy talks are concerned, they were born dead, they are dead, and they cannot really achieve anything."



DICKSON (SEQ 3): "To Palestinians, the autonomy scheme is simply an extension of the hated Israeli occupation. They say it offers autonomy to the inhabitants, but leaves sovereignty over the land in question. And, when top Israeli officials openly discuss their hopes, of eventually annexing the land, Palestinians conclude that autonomy is the first step."



SEQ 4: "Recent moves by the Israeli Defence Minister Ariel Sharon to liberalise occupation policies in the territories have met with suspicion, and are considered propaganda to make autonomy more acceptable.



SEQ. 5: "But opposition to continued Israeli rule is bitter. A recent grenade attack in Jerusalem killed two people. Israeli government officials say terrorism, which they blame on the PLO prevents moderate leadership from surfacing. Moderates, they claim, would consider autonomy on Israeli terms."



"But what does autonomy offer them? Palestinian newspaper editor Mamoun Assayed says Nothing, and predicts that continued opposition will stop the Camp David peace process cold."



MAMOUN ASSAYED (SEQ 6): "Of course, the Palestinians will also damage the whole peace treaty with Egypt, because I think President Sadat will never be able to continue selling the Palestinian rights while he is now raising and escalating opposition in Egypt itself, so, he can never continue selling Palestinian right to Sinai."



DICKSON (SEQ 7): "To most Palestinians, the answer is a recognition by Israel that hey have an equal claim to a sovereign state, and that anything less is nothing. This is Don Dickson reporting."





Initials BB





Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: INTRODUCTION: Under the terms of the Camp David Peace agreement signed between Israel and Egypt, plans were announced to grant autonomy to Palestinians living on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It was intended to solve the Palestinian issue while an Israeli withdrawal from Sinai paved the way for peace between Israel and Egypt. So far, talks on Palestinian autonomy have made no progress. On the West Bank itself, many Palestinians oppose what they see as limited independence only, as Don Dickson reports.