Ramallah, Hebron, Beitunia and Salfit, West Bank - 21 March 2000

Salfit, near Nablus

0000 Palestinian security force trucks entering town, with flags

0005 Mid shot trucks entering town with pictures of Arafat on front

0010 Palestinian police in trucks cheering, with flags

0018 Palestinian security forces walking through street with flags

0023 Boys playing in band on roadside

0028 Palestinian security forces walking through street

0031 Children holding pictures of Arafat

0035 Girls with pictures of Arafat, chanting

Hebron

0039 Close up drill

0041 Men putting up sign designating Palestinian land

Ofer Camp, near Ramallah

0050 Mid shot Israeli and Palestinian representatives with maps of revised territory

0058 Close-up of Israeli and Palestinian representatives shaking hands, pull out

Beitunia, near Ramallah

0103 Palestinian police entering Beitunia in truck

0110 SOUNDBITE: (English) Palestinian man, resident of Beitunia

0121 Close up of gun firing in air

0125 Wide shot Palestinian police in street

0127 Palestinian men firing into air

XFA

English/Nat

VOICED BY: Philippa Meagher

Jeep-loads of Palestinian police have rolled into new areas of the West Bank, firing A-K-47 rifles into the air to celebrate an Israeli troop withdrawal that fulfills a key obligation of the peace accords.

Israeli army officers near the city of Ramallah shook hands with Palestinian security officers on Tuesday and handed them copies of maps outlining the handover of 6.1 per cent of the West Bank.

Soldiers placed yellow and brown blocks marking the new boundary, with similar ceremonies taking place near the West Bank cities of Hebron and Nablus.

0003 Palestinian security forces drive toward the town of Salfit, near Nablus, displaying pictures of Yasser Arafat and flying the Palestinian flag.

0010 The town is part of the 6.1 per cent of the West Bank which is now under Palestinian control.

0018 UPSOUND

0022 When the troops arrive in Salfit the welcome is enthusiastic. Some of the towns involved in the pullout had already been put in charge of the civilian institutions. Now they have security control as well. It's a step towards Yasser Arafat's dream - the establishment of a Palestinian state.

UPSOUND

0039 Hebron is also part of the transfer. Locals raised a sign to designate the new Palestinian land - but redeployment there is likely to take place on Wednesday.

0050 The transfer began earlier in the day when Israeli and Palestinian officers at a camp near the West Bank town of Ramallah, studied maps of the land involved in the transfer.

0103 The town of Beituna was part of the deal and residents were pleased.

0110 SOUNDBITE: (English)

"When we get all the (Palestinian) prisoners we will be completely happy and then the Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian land."

SUPER CAPTION: Palestinian resident of Beitunia

0121 The handover, which was due to happen in January, gives Palestinians control over 40 percent of the disputed territory.