Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Interview with Shimon Peres, Israeli Foreign Minister

Aired April 30, 2002 - 13:02   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: Straight away to Ramallah. Yasser Arafat's compound, Israeli tanks, armored personnel carriers still remain now, sealing off the entry point to the building, as negotiations end -- aimed, rather, at ending the standoff continue.

Back to Ramallah and Matthew Chance for the latest this hour. Matthew, good evening.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good evening to you as well, Bill.

After months of confinement here in the West Bank town of Ramallah, under siege by Israeli security forces since the end of March, tonight could indeed be the night that Yasser Arafat is allowed to walk free, at least in areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under Palestinian rule.

Much depends, of course, on the security meetings under way. Those meetings between Palestinian officials and experts from the United States and Britain have been continuing throughout the course of the day, focusing for much of the day on Jericho and a Palestinian prison facility that's been proposed by the Palestinians as the place in which six of their -- six Palestinians wanted by Israel ought to be placed under the U.S. -- placed under guard under the U.S. plans under guard by monitors of Britain and the United States. Remember, four of those six wanted Palestinians have already been convicted by a Palestinian court of killing Israel's tourism minister last October.

What Israel wants to guarantee is that there won't be some kind of revolving-door situation emerging here, where by if they give the go ahead to -- the order for their troops to leave the compound around Ramallah, these six wanted people will not be allowed to walk free. For their part, the Palestinians also have considerable concerns. They're looking namely for a letter of guarantee from the U.S. and British team that when responsibility for these prisoners is handed over to them, they can ensure their safety and, in fact, they won't ever be handed into the custody of the Israeli authorities.

Much now depends, of course, on how these meeting pan out this evening. There are more expected to resume here in Ramallah within the next hour and a half or so. Obviously, we will bring you the latest from there. And possibly, if all goes according to plan, the scenario could be set for the Israeli forces around that compound to leave, and for Yasser Arafat, as I say, to come out for the first time since the end of March -- Bill.

HEMMER: Matthew, thanks. Matthew Chance in Ramallah. Clearly to our viewers, there is an awful lot to cover at this point. Not only Ramallah, but also what is happening in Bethlehem, and with regard to Jenin.

With that, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres joins us now live from Tel Aviv for his take on all these matters still happening in that part of the world. Sir, we say thank you, and we appreciate your time. There was substantial movement today in Bethlehem, but still there are about 25 men inside that your government claims are terrorists, or wanted terrorists, or wanted on a terrorist list.

What have these men done, what are they accused of, and where is the evidence?

SHIMON PERES, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: They are and were accused on specific cases of terror, killing, murder. They have stains of blood on their hands, and we don't suggest that they will put in prison with out trial. As suggested, they will have a fair trial in Israel, or otherwise let them leave the country.

HEMMER: Your government has offered that, or exile as you point out. The Palestinians have not accepted that in any way. However, they have offered a trip to Gaza. At any point to end this standoff, would Gaza be acceptable to the Israeli government?

PERES: We have a double problem with it. Number one, they've penetrated the church against all norms, all accepted norms, to respect the holy places. That's one point. The second point is, unfortunately in the past where persons like it went to trial and put in prison, they discovered the revolving door. They were not keeped -- they were not kept there. So, we want to be sure that they will be brought before the court, justice will be done, and whatever will be the prison, they will have to respect it.

HEMMER: You raise an interesting point, because what we're hearing now in Jericho, this jail that may house probably half a dozen wanted terrorists that are now inside Yasser Arafat's compound, they would be monitored, essentially, by American and British monitors, or guardians as some have suggested. Is that a possibility in Gaza if these men, these 25 men were taken there? .

PERES: I don't think so. I mean, this was a solution for a specific situation, in the Muqataa, which is a group of buildings in Ramallah, and they were connected in conditions by Arafat being there. Normally, people who are accused of terror and killing should be put to trial, and sent according to the verdict.

HEMMER: Let's go to Jenin quickly here. You have said that Israel has made humanitarian mistakes. The U.N. fact-finding team may be even disbanded. That's the word we are getting from the U.N. today. But more to the point of Jenin and the point you're making, what humanitarian mistakes were made inside the refugee camp?

PERES: I don't remember that I said it. I said, on the contrary, judging by the results, there were not humanitarian problems on a real size. You know, it started with the blood libel. They said that 3,000 civilians lost their lives in Jenin because of the military operation of Israel. To the best of our knowledge, only seven civilians lost their lives. I regret each of them, but there is a difference between 3,000 and seven. It is true that another 45 Palestinians -- armed Palestinians lost their lives in battle. So did 26 Israeli soldiers.

Now, the result is the best measurement to see the way the army has behaved. They took clearly all possible measures not to hurt civilian life. Then again, one should never forget that according to the law, a refugee camp should not allow to build centers of terror (AUDIO GAP) to make room for illegal weapons or to send suicide bombers to Israel. All this was discovered.

So we have nothing to hide, and we don't want to hide anything. We feel that we did something not out of our choice, but our lack of choice. The Palestinians should have done it, and then there wouldn't be any problems in Jenin whatsoever.

HEMMER: There are many in your government who believe the U.N. is stacked against Israel. Do you believe the United Nations is biased against your country? .

PERES: To answer it honestly, when you look at the structure, the answer is yes, because you have three groups in the United Nations which are (UNINTELLIGIBLE) biased against Israel. This is the group of the -- most of the Arab countries, 22 of them. Most of the Muslim countries, 55 of them. Many of the non-aligned (ph) nations. So before you begin any judgment in the United Nations, you discover that Israel has a very small chance to win, even when she is right.

You know, if you have the wrong scale, one shouldn't be surprised if it gets the wrong weight.

HEMMER: In Ramallah now. If Yasser Arafat is given freedom of movement, will the Israeli government arrest him at any point?

PERES: No. That's not our intention, but we expect Arafat, who is the elected chairman of the Palestinian Authority to be true to his commitment, namely to fight terror, to stop terror, and there are (ph) the differences between us by negotiations. Not by bombs. This is the minimum that we expect from him.

HEMMER: So you're saying you will not arrest or apprehend Yasser Arafat at this point, but you did not take off the table the possibility that it could happen at some later, correct?

PERES: I hope that we shall not arrive at all to this point. We understand and respect the fact that Palestinians have the right to elect their leader. Arafat is their elected leader. It is not for Israel to fire their leaders, or nominate leaders, but we expect that the elected leaders will really implement the agreements that we have signed together, including in Oslo. By the late Prime Minister Rabin, by myself, and by Mr. Arafat. We have to follow and respect it, and he has to follow and respect it. HEMMER: Final question here. We are almost out of time here. Can you tell us at what point the six men inside the Ramallah compound will be transferred to the jail in Jericho? And as I ask that question, there is a suggestion in many circles that the guardians, the monitors, from the U.S. and Britain may be the initial footprint, the initial staging point for the future of peacekeepers in your part of the world. The Palestinians openly have accepted this as a proposal. Do the Israelis think the same in wanting peacekeepers on their land?

PERES: No, there is a difference between prison and peace. Prison you are being sent to, even if you don't agree. Peace is a matter of agreement. As long as we don't have an agreement, I don't see what can be watched or inspected. So before we shall have an agreement, I don't think there is a real warm or a good reason to discuss this possibility.

HEMMER: Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. Thank you for your time in Tel Aviv. We will talk again.

PERES: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com