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CNN Live At Daybreak

Sharon Standing Firm Against Global Calls for Israeli Troops to Withdraw From West Bank

Aired April 08, 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: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is standing firm against global calls for Israeli troops to withdraw from the West Bank.

CNN's Jerrold Kessel joins us live from Jerusalem with a report on Mr. Sharon's raucous day in Parliament. Jerrold, it was something else.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Something else, indeed. I think what we had here was not just Ariel Sharon being defiant, but really trying to say, I've got the initiative, and I'm going to keep it. Because what he did was lay down, in defiance really, of what the president -- President Bush, the United Nations has said (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and have insisted or have demanded that the Israelis withdraw, or the beginning at least of that withdrawal from the Palestinian towns, where the Israeli forces have gone in for now for the last 10 days in what Mr. Sharon has repeatedly called the attempt to root out the sources of Palestinian terror.

He said that that operation will continue and will only stop once it was complete with its goals met. Here's what he had to say in a key moment in that address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The IDF will continue with the operation as quickly as possible until the mission is completed, until Arafat's terrorist infrastructure is disassembled and until the killers that are hiding in various places, like in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, until they are captured.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KESSEL: But beyond that I think a very ominous message for the secretary of state as he begins his mission into the region, because Mr. Sharon said that even once that operation was complete, the way he believed the situation needed to be structured was that Israel would create what he called buffer zones. Now, these buffer zones, presumably in the West Bank, would be set up, he said, to stop the resumption of terror attacks from in Palestinian areas and against Israeli cities, the kind of suicide bombings that have rocked Israel over the last few weeks and which really prompted this major operation that is continuing.

Now, by saying that he wants to set up buffer zones by describing Yasser Arafat's authority as a terror authority, by saying he won't negotiate with terrorists, he seemed to be saying quite clearly to Mr. Powell in advance of him coming that there is no hope of getting a cease-fire with Yasser Arafat. All we can do is lay out the contours in the West Bank, walls which will stop the resumption of terror attacks against Israel.

The Palestinians responding very quickly to Mr. Sharon's remarks have been devastated, they say. They say it's a devastating moment for any hope of a peace process, and they accuse Mr. Sharon of trying to shoot down the Powell mission even before it gets under way.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: When he is defiant, he is really defying President Bush's call for withdrawal, for stopping the incursion. He is saying, I will delay my presence. Thirdly, he has resumed occupation and announced now that he will create buffer zones and areas, where the Israelis would resume the occupation.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KESSEL: So Mr. Sharon did leave something of a glimmer of hope, when he said that the recent Saudi peace proposal had some elements that were positive, but he said it could only be built on through negotiations directly between Israel, the Arab world and what he called responsible Palestinians. He said he would talk to Mr. Powell about trying to get such a meeting with the Arab world between him to negotiate such future deals and future peace deals. But really, that was really only a long-term vision.

For the moment, what we had was Ariel Sharon saying this is the way we need to re-establish the contours of the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank, and also perhaps setting, or trying to set the agenda for the upcoming Powell visit -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Which will be a tough one. Thank you -- Jerrold Kessel reporting live for us this morning from Israel.

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