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American Morning
Powell Hopes for Cease-fire Within 24 Hours
Aired April 16, 2002 - 07:02 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: "Up Front" at this hour, Secretary of State Colin Powell says that he is making some progress in the Middle East, and that he hopes to work out some kind of cease-fire within 24 hours, although he adds it's too soon to tell exactly what can be achieved.
Powell is due to meet for a third time at this hour with Ariel Sharon, and it is expected he will push for a timetable for Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank. In a phone call with President Bush yesterday, Sharon promised to withdraw from Jenin and Nablus within a week. But he did say troops will remain in Ramallah and in Bethlehem, where the Church of the Nativity is still under siege.
On the other side, Palestinian negotiators are said to be working on a statement to condemn and renounce terrorism. Powell is expected to meet with Yasser Arafat again tomorrow, and one of Arafat's key aides, Marwan Barghouti accused by Israel of having links to Palestinian militias and the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade was arrested yesterday near Ramallah.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer is standing by in Jerusalem to tie all of this together for us this morning -- good morning, Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Paula. I'm not sure I can tie it all together. This is a very, very complex, dangerous situation here, and while there are hints, very, very subtle hints of some progress, many Palestinian and Israel officials are insisting that the chances don't look very good, despite this full court press by the Bush administration and specifically the Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Yesterday, I did have a chance to sit down with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, at his residence here in Jerusalem. He promised that that withdrawal from most of the territories, recently reoccupied by Israeli military forces, would go forward and be completed with a week. And he specifically said that at the Jenin refugee camp, international observers were going in, reporters were going in, our own CNN reporter, Sheila MacVicar, will be going in today.
He insists the Israeli military did nothing wrong and has nothing to hide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We don't have anything to hide there. It's not only that we don't have anything to hide. I think that every democracy, every army would have been very, very proud of the behavior of its soldiers. I mean, it was very heavy battles. We suffered heavy casualties there. But still, we were very careful not to harm civilians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: There is no doubt, though, that the Palestinians are accusing the Israeli military of engaging in what they call massacres of hundreds of Palestinians. Independent analysis and confirmation of those competing allegations obviously will take some time.
Now, the secretary of state has been meeting today with various Israeli and Palestinian leaders later this afternoon here in Jerusalem. He'll be meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, for a third time. But in brief comments to reporters in between some of his earlier meetings today, the secretary of state seemed a little bit more upbeat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're going to have good conversations, my staff and the Palestinian side today, and I look forward to seeing the chairman tomorrow morning. I think we are making progress and look forward to furthering that progress over the next 24 hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And as you pointed out, Paula, one complication, potential complication in the secretary's mission, yesterday's arrest by the Israelis of Marwan Barghouti. He is the secretary general of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. The Israelis accuse him of supporting, sponsoring and engaging in terrorist actions, including the suicide bombings of the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is affiliated with the Fatah movement.
Big headlines in all of the newspapers here in Israel today, "Barghouti Captured," this headline in this morning's "Jerusalem Post" -- Paula.
ZAHN: And when you pick up the papers here this morning stateside, Wolf, there seems to be a degree of surprise on some people's part that Colin Powell will again meet with Yasser Arafat sometime tomorrow. What is the reaction to the prospect of that meeting there?
BLITZER: Well, Israeli officials are not happy about it, at least most of the Israeli officials in the government. There seems to be a significant split, though, between the Labor Party minority members led by Shimon Peres, the foreign minister, who basically is saying there is no alternative. The Israelis must deal with Yasser Arafat. At the same time, the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and his Likud ruling party members, they hate this idea that Colin Powell continue to meet with Yasser Arafat. They think Arafat is a terrorist, and that nothing will come of any of this. It's just encouraging further terrorist actions against Israel.
So there is a split within the Israel government, when it comes to this. But the secretary of state is determined to go forward. His stay here in Jerusalem, as far as we could tell, Paula, remains open- ended.
ZAHN: All right. Wolf Blitzer, thanks so much for that live update -- see you a little bit later on this morning.
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