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CNN Live At Daybreak

Israeli Forces Return to West Bank Town Early This Morning

Aired April 16, 2002 - 05:02   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: One week after withdrawing from Tulkarem, Israeli forces returned to the West Bank town early this morning. Military officials said arrests were made and troops pulled out. With the Israeli military still controlled other West Bank cities, though, the question remains when will this operation be over?

CNN's Wolf Blitzer sat down with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prime Minister Sharon insisted the Israeli military was preparing to withdraw from those areas of the West Bank it recently reoccupied.

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Altogether, we are on our way out and that's already happening. That's exactly what I have said. When I was asked in the past I said when we have accomplished, we'll be leaving.

BLITZER: Within a week, he says Israeli troops will be out of the West Bank towns of Jenin, Nablus and other areas. But he says they won't leave Bethlehem and Ramallah until wanted Palestinian gunmen surrender. And he rejected Palestinian accusations of an Israeli massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp.

SHARON: You already know that these, this story is a lie. It's a lie. What happened there, it was a very hard battle there.

BLITZER: He also insisted Yasser Arafat was no longer worthy of representing the Palestinians.

(on camera): If you're not going to sit down and negotiate with him, who will represent the Palestinians?

SHARON: First, the problem is Mr. Arafat. It is that you cannot reach peace with him. There is no doubt that he was involved in the strategy. First of all, he adopted a strategy of terror. Second, he formed a coalition of terror for all those terrorists organizations, including some of his own organizations like the Tuxib (ph), the Fatah (ph) and the Presidential Guard.

BLITZER: Sharon's tough talk was immediately rejected by Palestinians.

MAHDI ABDUL HADI, PALESTINIAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY: All his idea is there is no occupation, there is no massacre, there is no siege and he still wants to stay in the occupied territories and not accepting to withdraw and to end the military presence and incursions.

BLITZER: Sharon insisted Secretary of State Colin Powell had made a mistake in agreeing to meet with Arafat, whom Sharon branded a terrorist. But Israeli analysts say Sharon has managed to limit any serious damage to U.S.-Israeli relations.

GERALD STEINBERG, BAR-ILLAN UNIVERSITY: The message of working closely with the United States was repeated a lot because of the tension that came up over the statements by the president saying get out, get out immediately, and certainly that created the sense of a crisis between the U.S. and Israel. That crisis since has been dampened.

BLITZER: But a former U.S. ambassador to Israel says Sharon's stance will undermine the Bush administration's strategy of seeking to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire.

NED WALKER, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Well, it's certainly not going to accomplish what the president said, which was a rapid withdrawal. Sharon has made it pretty clear that he's going to persist in this effort to deal with the Palestinian areas in the West Bank.

BLITZER (on camera): Sharon aides privately acknowledge some serious strains with Washington. Despite that, they vow to continue striking Palestinian targets and isolating Arafat.

Wolf Blitzer, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: PLO legal adviser Michael Tarazi says there is a link between the lack of security for Israel and the lack of freedom for Palestinians. Speaking on "CNN Newsnight," Tarazi says the recent treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank will lead to more violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL TARAZI, PLO LEGAL ADVISER: Well, that's exactly what Sharon has assured the Israeli people, that by going in and terrorizing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, starving them, denying them water, health care, putting them in their homes afraid to come out, shooting civilians -- in Jenin we're hearing reports of entire families killed -- I think he's pretty much guaranteed the Israeli people that there will be more suicide bombers. That's exactly how you create suicide bombers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And Tarazi questions why Palestinians have to condemn the killing of civilians when Israelis don't. Here's an example of the complexity of the Mideast negotiations facing Secretary of State Colin Powell. Israel is demanding a cease- fire before withdrawing from the Palestinian territories and the Palestinians are calling for an Israeli withdrawal before a cease- fire.

But on CNN's "Larry King Live" last night, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres did offer some hope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIMON PERES, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: We didn't intend to remain there for any length of time. We are talking a matter of three to four weeks. Two and a half weeks passed already, so the remaining time is not so long and that was our intentions originally.

LARRY KING, HOST: Are you telling us that you'll be leaving most all of the areas very shortly?

PERES: Yes. I think it's a matter of days, not of weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Peres says Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat could be a viable negotiator if he changes his policies and his behavior.

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