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CNN Live At Daybreak
Zinni Wraps Up Talks With Israeli Side Today
Aired March 15, 2002 - 06:02 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to the Middle East now. U.S. Mideast envoy Anthony Zinni wraps up talks today with top Israeli officials before moving onto the Palestinian side.
CNN senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar is live in Jerusalem this morning with an update.
Good morning Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol. Well high anxiety here, indeed. General Zinni, President Bush's envoy, has wasted no time after his arrival here yesterday afternoon in getting down to business. He met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last night and the general repeated to him what Secretary of State Powell had already said to the prime minister over the phone. We want you to withdraw those tanks in the hearts of Palestinian cities and we would like you to do it now please.
Israel's prime minister apparently told the general that he will begin some withdrawal, but he was not prepared to carry out all the withdrawals. Overnight, Carol, we have had a situation in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, for example, where there was a massive Israeli force for 72 hours. The tanks and troops have left the heart of the city, but there and in other locations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, Israeli tanks remain on the outskirts of those cities.
Israeli forces are still present in three key Palestinian cities, most notably the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. Now this is what is called "area A". All of these cities are what is called "area A", areas that under the Oslo Peace Accord signed in 1993 that are supposed to be completely under Palestinian control.
Palestinians have said that until they get all Israeli forces out of "area A", there can be no progress or not much progress. Now we've seen the general again this morning. He's had a couple of meetings -- one with Israel's defense minister and most recently with Israel's foreign minister, and the general, in spite of conditions on the ground, in spite of the 136 people killed here in the weeks since this mission was announced, says he thinks things might be looking up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ZINNI, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: There's a grievance here for hope, so I'm encouraged. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MACVICAR: Now later on today, he'll be meeting with Yasser Arafat in Ramallah. Mr. Arafat has already said today that he is not satisfied with what Israel has done so far, basically saying look, this is just a picture that they are creating for the rest of the world to look at and that they have not done nearly enough.
Now we also know that tonight Mr. Arafat is going to be talking with General Zinni about a Palestinian plan that the Palestinians say no details available yet, but the Palestinians say that their plan will be a way to further reduce the tension, try to reduce the level of violence, get them heading towards a cease-fire and if that holds, with luck, back towards the negotiating table -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Anthony Zinni says there's hope. What hope does he see? Is that part of it, this Palestinian plan?
MACVICAR: Well part of it here, frankly, is that the level of violence has reached such levels that there is a big fear on both the Israeli side and the Palestinian side that unless something happens, they could completely tip over into an abyss and end up in something that is an even more all-out war than what we have had here over the course of the last number of weeks since Israel has embarked on this new military policy.
So for the general to say that there is hope, the general can do little but say that there is hope, because frankly if the general doesn't have hope, then nobody is left that has hope.
COSTELLO: Understand that. Sheila MacVicar reporting live for us from Jerusalem this morning. Thank you.
You know despite Israel's withdrawal from some West Bank towns, the army is sending a clear message about its presence in Palestinian- controlled areas.
CNN's Ben Wedeman surveys the scene from the key West Bank town of Ramallah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Before the pullout at the entrance of Ramallah's main refugee camp, a familiar face-off -- Palestinian children against an Israeli tank, an uneven, almost surreal confrontation. For three days El Amari refugee camp was under a round-the-clock curfew. Israeli forces rounded up and took away most of the men. Camp residents witnessed some of the most intense fighting since Israeli forces entered Ramallah earlier this week. They hardly welcomed the return of their old enemies.
"We've gone back 40 years," says Saeed Nimba (ph).
Camp residents tell of Israeli soldiers going from house to house, ransacking room after room. They came three times to the home of Abu Omjed Terifi (ph), turning everything upside down and inside out.
The soldiers, he says, did more than just that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no he take it. Take it. Telephone, camera. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). In my pocket, about 3,000 shekels. Believe me, and 170 dinar also. Everything, everything they are taking.
WEDEMAN: The Israeli army denies its soldiers have engaged in theft. An Israeli army spokesman says bomb workshops, weapons, and a large quantity of ammunition were found in the camp. Israel claims similar finds in many of the areas it entered during its recent offensive, but that offensive cost the Palestinians around 150 lives.
The message of this operation has been clear. Israel can and will reenter areas previously under full Palestinian control and do within them whatever it wants.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Ramallah on the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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