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CNN Live Today

Progress But No Breakthrough

Aired April 16, 2002 - 14:02   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: As for the Secretary of State Colin Powell, he met again today with Ariel Sharon. Tomorrow it's back to Ramallah for the second meeting with Yasser Arafat. Earlier today he said, "We are making progress," his words, in a quote from this afternoon in Jerusalem.

Tonight in Jerusalem here's Andrea Koppel watching his every step. Andrea, good evening again to you.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bill. There's been progress but certainly no breakthrough. In fact, one official said that the talks haven't broken down but it is not looking good. It doesn't look as if they will get a cease-fire. They weren't expecting to be able to get one, but they were certainly trying.

It doesn't look like they're going to get a hard commitment from Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to completely withdraw from West Bank towns and cities. What Ariel Sharon is telling Secretary Powell is that the standoff at the Church on the Nativity, there is a way out. But the gunmen who have been holed up inside have to turn over their weapons and surrender.

And the same is true for Ramallah, where Israeli officials say there are alleged assassins of the Israeli tourism minister who are holed up inside Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters. And Israel is telling Secretary Powell that unless those men hand themselves in, then that siege will continue as well.

And finally, Bill, the third thing that Secretary Powell was trying to get on this trip was to get a firm commitment, a public statement, by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to renounce terrorism, to tell his people that suicide bombing should stop. And it looks as if -- and we'll have to wait really until this meeting happens tomorrow morning in Ramallah -- but it looks as if he's not going to get much give on that either.

It certainly has been a mildly successful trip in the following sense. U.S. officials believe, Bill, that they have managed to somewhat improve the atmosphere, that they have perhaps created the right environment, such that in the not-too-distant future they might be able to convene a Middle East conference in which Israeli, Palestinian and perhaps some Arab leaders would attend.

Not Yasser Arafat, as we heard yesterday Secretary Powell saying. Yasser Arafat would not himself need to attend, because the Israelis have ruled that out as a nonstarter. But perhaps he could send a representative there to try to bring about some sort of political pathway out of this impasse.

So as things stand this evening -- again, we don't want to write this trip off just yet. But there's not a lot of optimism within the Powell contingency here. And they're hoping -- they're looking to tomorrow's meeting with Yasser Arafat with great expectation and a certain degree of hope. They say that that really will be the sort of do or die meeting, to see if Yasser Arafat will agree to make these statements condemning terrorism and agree to a cease-fire before a complete Israeli withdrawal from West Bank towns and cities -- Bill.

HEMMER: Andrea, quickly here. There has been talk about Palestinian aid to try and help rebuild the West Bank after these incursions. Have you been able to nail down or approximate how much it would cost for money to be donated and essentially given to these areas of the West Bank that have been, frankly, devastated in many parts?

KOPPEL: The people that I've spoken with talk in the billions, Bill. And in fact, there's going to be a reconstruction conference, a donor's conference, whatever you want to call it, later this month in Norway. That is something that the United States and the Arab world have been trying to push forward, to try to raise money.

And obviously they're going to have to get assessment teams on the ground there to figure out just exactly what will be needed because so much of the infrastructure has been destroyed, and so much of the Palestinian Authority infrastructure has been destroyed. I don't really think people have a sense, in terms of a hard figure. But they're talking about billions of dollars right now, Bill.

HEMMER: Billions. Wow. Andrea, thanks. Andrea Koppel again with the secretary of state. Tomorrow Andrea will fly out after that meeting in Ramallah. First stop, though, in Cairo, Egypt, where the secretary of state will conduct meetings there before heading back to Washington, D.C.

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