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CNN Live Saturday

Israel Delays Retaliation for Latest Terrorist Attack

Aired June 02, 2001 - 15:00   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.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Shock, sadness, anger and outrage in the Middle East today, over Friday's very deadly terrorist attack in Israel. Nineteen people are now confirmed dead, scores more injured, following last evening's suicide bombing outside a crowded disco in Tel Aviv. The attack is one the worst act of violence since tensions flared between Israelis and Palestinians eight months ago.

As Palestinians brace for retaliatory strikes, and Israel mulls over how to respond, international pressure to end the fighting is growing. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins us with the latest from Jerusalem -- Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Donna, there is certainly tension amongst the Palestinians, both in the West Bank and Gaza, about a potential retaliatory strike by the Israeli government.

Now, the Israeli government issued a statement after a series of meetings they had today not only laying the blame squarely at the door of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, but also then saying that they were going to give some time toward international diplomacy to work on trying to exert pressure on Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to end the violence, to show concrete actions and to work toward a cease-fire.

So here, they are saying that they are going to give some time. They don't put a time limit on it, they don't say exactly what will trigger a retaliatory strike, but so fat it appears that they are willing to let some time pass. They want to see arrests by the Palestinian Authority of suspected terrorists. They want to see direct orders by Yasser Arafat on Palestinian television to stop shooting and stop violence.

Also, according to one member of the Israeli parliament, Israel wants the international community to isolate Yasser Arafat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN MERIDOR, ISRAELI KNESSET MEMBER: I think Israel will have to mount pressure on him. The more pressure will come from outside, from Washington, from London, from Rome, from Berlin, from Moscow, telling him: "You are not a partner to any of our meetings as long as you had these terrorist attacks, as long as you don't call this off." The more pressure will come from the outside, the less Israel will have to do. If not, we will have to mount the pressure, both militarily, economically, politically, to make clear who this guy is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Earlier, Yasser Arafat, under pressure from some of the foreign diplomats and Israel right now, issued a statement to international cameras, which has been broadcast on Israeli television, condemning the bomb attack in Tel Aviv last night, saying that he would work, continue to work for an unconditional cease-fire and an end to the violence, and calling on international mediation and intervention to help resolve this situation here.

Just a few moments ago, we've had another statement from the Palestinian officials after another meeting today, saying that Israel's demands for arrests and an immediate stop to any kind of violence is unrealistic, and that it is unrealistic, according to Palestinians, to expect that to happen within the next 24 hours. So, there appears to be the Palestinians trying to figure out what to do to avoid a retaliatory strike and saying that Israel's conditions are unrealistic.

Now, in terms of what is going on on the ground, the Israelis have closed off the West Bank and the Gaza strip, they have closed access toward Egypt on one side and Jordan on the other side and they have closed down the Gaza International Airport, preventing Yasser Arafat from flying back to his headquarters from the West Bank to Gaza.

In terms of responsibility for last night's suicide bombing, there is still no clear responsibility. Israeli television at one point said that Islamic Jihad was responsible, but there has been no authentic claim of responsibility that has been authenticized and vouched for by Islamic Jihad itself. So, still waiting to see what will happen, whether there will be an end to the violence, whether there will be a retaliatory strike -- Donna.

KELLEY: Christiane, Yasser Arafat has been called on repeatedly to tell the groups to stop the violence, and he has called for an unconditional cease-fire today. How do you think his control and power is to get those attacks to stop?

AMANPOUR: Well, he clearly says and the Palestinian officials say that the situation has become so heated over the last nine months of the intifada that they cannot control some of the more extreme elements. The Israelis think exactly the opposite, that everything that is done is within Yasser Arafat's control and within his ability to either turn it off or turn it on. The truth is probably somewhere in between there.

But it is true that Yasser Arafat has never gone on Palestinian television to issue direct orders to stop shooting. He hasn't done it today, and there doesn't seem to be any plans for him to do that. Also, as we have seen in the past, in times when there was cooperation amongst the securities of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, there was a marked decrease in terms of violent acts.

And just one other thing, in its statement today after a government meeting, the Israeli authorities, I mean, blatantly, out- and-out accused Yasser Arafat of terrorist activity, something that they have not done so openly and so directly during this intifada, essentially saying that he and the Palestinian Authority were engaged in, quote, "a coalition of terror" -- Donna.

KELLEY: Christiane Amanpour in Jerusalem with the latest for us.

Swift reaction from the White House. President Bush condemned the attack, and is once again calling on both sides to stop the fighting. We get details now from our senior White House correspondent John King -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Donna, the president is monitoring the situation from the Camp David presidential retreat. We are told by administration officials he has had several conversations today with his National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, as well as with his Secretary of State Colin Powell.

As Christiane was just noting, U.S. officials among those in the international community urging the Israelis right now to show restraint and not to immediately retaliate for this latest suicide bombing. The reason why? U.S. officials hoping, hoping -- not terribly optimistic but hoping that perhaps Mr. Arafat's public statement in which he said he agreed to work for a cease-fire can be molded into an actual agreement for such a cease-fire.

And of course, U.S. officials telling the Israelis now that if there is a retaliation, they suspect Mr. Arafat will feel pressure to back off. Now as all of this played out in recent weeks, one of the big questions from the U.S. policy maker position and among many of those who follow developments in the region, is if Mr. Arafat made such a statement, calling on the Palestinians to stop the violence, whether he has the political standing to carry it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIBLEY TELHAMI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: He can't just persuade all these people who are attending funeral after funeral, who are paying a price for all kinds of things that are going on the ground on a daily basis, to put aside all these issues without having something political to offer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, we are told by U.S. officials, no plans at the moment for President Bush to personally intervene and call any of the leaders in the region, but we do know that Secretary of State Powell has canceled a planned trip to Costa Rica for an Organization of American States meeting. Instead, he will stay here in Washington, monitoring the developments in the Middle East -- Donna.

KELLEY: John, is the Mitchell report look like that's the best push now that can be on the table to help the situation? KING: The administration says it is the best proposal at the moment. And number one recommendation in the Mitchell report is a cease-fire.

There are many thorny issues from there. The Palestinians, of course, want the Israelis to stop expanding the settlements, and the U.S. position is, let's get the Palestinians and the Israelis to agree to a cease-fire, then we can discuss everything else. Of course, the Palestinians say why they should agree to a cease-fire, if in their view, the Israelis keep violating prior agreements about those settlements -- Donna.

KELLEY: John King at the White House.

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