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CNN Live At Daybreak

Sharon Raises New Condition on Arafat's Attendance at Summit

Aired March 27, 2002 - 06:01   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 turn our attention now to Israel and Jerusalem specifically. Our Michael Holmes is in Jerusalem this morning with more on the disagreement between the Palestinians and the Israeli government over Yasser Arafat attending that summit. He filed this report late last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Senior Palestinian officials accused Israel of trying to blackmail the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, by imposing tough conditions on letting him go to Beirut for the Arab summit. Despite calls by the United States that Israel let Arafat go to the summit with a round- trip ticket, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon this evening said conditions are not ripe to do so.

In a television interview, Mr. Sharon raised a new condition for allowing Arafat to leave. In essence, a U.S. guarantee that Israel would be able to prevent Arafat from returning from Beirut, if there was a Palestinian terror attack during his absence. The U.S. has been insisting that Israel grant that round trip for Arafat, but now Yasser Arafat has decided himself not to go.

He is, however, likely to address the summit by a teleconferencing set up. How this affects the tone of the Arab summit yet to be seen. Also, how the bitterness might affect the ongoing cease-fire negotiations being brokered by U.S. Special Envoy Anthony Zinni.

Also, more violence in the West Bank. Two international observers shot dead in their car just north of the West Bank city of Hebron. The two dead, a man from Turkey and a woman from Switzerland, were members of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron. That's an organization known as TIP. There was a wounded observer too, a Turkish man. He told Israel Radio in an interview that their clearly marked vehicle was stopped by a Palestinian gunman, who opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle.

These international observers, several dozen of them from six European nations, are in Hebron to monitor tensions between Palestinians and Israeli settlers, who live in a small enclave in the city.

Michael Holmes, CNN, Jerusalem. (END VIDEOTAPE)

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