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CNN Live Today

Arafat Condemns Bombing, Braces for Reprisal

Aired May 08, 2002 - 11:01   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first on CNN this hour, crisis in the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is due home from the United States in a couple of hours. He has given every indication that Israel plans a strong response to the latest suicide bombing.

CNN's Carol Lin is standing by in Rishon Letzion, near Tel Aviv, where the bomber killed himself and 15 other people at a pool hall last night.

Hello, once again, Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, what's changed in the last hour is we've found out that this building is now officially condemned.

There is so much structural damage. Let me just give you a taste of it as we pan up here to the third floor, which is where the bomber actually struck.

This building has got to come down. They evacuated us outside the building simply because they felt that the ceiling was going to collapse at any second. Huge cracks on the inside.

But take a look at the video from the inside, and you'll see the impact of this explosion. What happened was, is that the suicide bomber struck at about 11:00 last night. The club was full of people. It's an illegal gambling hall. They had pool tables on the inside and slot machines.

Apparently, he was able to make it up three flights of stairs. He was carrying a suitcase and made his way past the pool tables to the center of the room, where he then opened up the suitcase, which triggered this massive explosion.

Investigators are saying between 10 and 15 kilograms of explosive material was inside. They were scraping off a lot of the evidence last night to try to figure out exactly what type of explosive. They did find the trigger, which will help them. But the explosive will help also identify the organization that may be behind this attack.

In the meantime, 15 people were killed, some 60 people were injured, and among those 60 injured, several of them, almost a dozen, we're told, who are simply clinging to life.

Leon, we just heard amazing stories of survival, including a young man who was saved, spared, during this explosion, because the force of the explosion flipped up a big table, a heavy table, that protected him from flying glass and debris, and the majority of the force of the explosion.

But also several very sad stories, including some parents, apparently a couple, who were killed inside. Their two children now orphaned, and the city of Rishon Letzion trying to find out where their relatives are or whether the city is going to have to take charge of these young children.

Leon, right now the investigation is continuing, but we are hearing that CNN is reporting that Hamas has taken responsibility for what happened here.

What people are saying is, though, for this suicide bomber to have made it all the way up three flights of stairs and into the center of the room, the people in that club had to have recognized him, which is an indication of the amount of planning that probably went behind this suicide attack, that he had to get to known the patrons, that they knew him by face, and that there was plenty of time to build the kind of explosive device that he was able to detonate in the center of that room -- Leon.

HARRIS: That's amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Carol Lin, reporting live for us from Rishon Letzion. Thank you very much, Carol.

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat clearly has his back against the wall, again. He is ordering his security forces now to stop these attacks, something that many have not heard him say before, and had not heard him say that specifically in Arabic.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer is watching the situation today from Jerusalem He was watching it and covering it live yesterday.

Wolf, good to see you again.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Leon.

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat only a little while ago issuing a very tough statement, a statement that he has not made before, calling on Palestinians to cease and desist from these kinds of suicide bombing attacks against Israeli civilians.

Let me read a brief excerpt form the statement Arafat just issued.

"I have given my instructions to the Palestinian security forces to confront and prevent any terror attack against Israeli civilians from any Palestinian side and at the same time, and in parallel, to confront any attack on Palestinian civilians from the Israeli army or the Israeli settlers." Clearly, Palestinian leader Arafat concerned that the prime minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, upon his return to Israel in a few hours, will convene the Israeli security cabinet, the inner cabinet, and make some major decisions.

But even as he was leaving the United States prematurely, cut short that visit to the United States to return to Israel, the prime minister was already warning of a major Israeli response. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Israel will fight anyone who tries to threaten these values. Israel will fight anyone who tries through suicide terrorism to sow fear. Israel will fight. Israel will triumph. And when victory prevails, Israel will make peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Now, earlier today in the northern part of Israel there was yet another incident. This one involving a suicide bombing attempt that didn't succeed. We have some graphic video tape. I want to alert our viewers that what you will see is an Israeli robot removing the suicide bomber from the road. His explosives apparently went off prematurely.

He is still alive. He is in an Israeli hospital, listed in moderate condition right now. He was clearly injured by the explosives that detonated Israeli police say prematurely.

Two passersby were standing by and they were injured moderately as well. Slightly injured, but clearly, Leon, if that incident had gone off as it was supposed to go off, at a bus station, presumably in Afula, this town just south of Haifa, the situation could have been worse.

The bottom line, Leon, right now, is people in Israel expect a major Israeli response and there is all sorts of speculation what that may be. We'll await the official word from the Israeli cabinet once it convenes later today -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right, Wolf. Let me ask you this, though, before we get to talking about that. You know, we've been hearing Israeli government officials, specifically Ariel Sharon himself saying, for a long time, that what they're waiting for is Yasser Arafat to come out and strongly condemn this sort of action and show that he is going to do something about it, and say so in Arabic.

Now that he has done so, is there anyway to expect that Yasser Arafat's words will actually make a difference with Ariel Sharon, or with the Israeli government, or with the Israeli people?

BLITZER: Well, there's a divided Israeli cabinet right now, as far as Yasser Arafat is concerned. Probably won't make much of a difference as far as Ariel Sharon and many members of his own Likud party are concerned. Some of them strongly supporting exile of Yasser Arafat and his key lieutenants, even right now.

But among some of the Labor party members, looking to Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, the Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer -- they probably would resist, would oppose that.

There was a similar debate that occurred right after the Netanya Passover-Seder bombing that killed some 29 Israelis at the end of March and resulted in the Israeli military campaign in the West Bank, what they called Operation Defensive Shield.

Interestingly enough, Leon, even before this incident yesterday in Rishon Letzion, the chief of staff of the Israeli army, Lieutenant General Shaul Mofaz, said that if there is more terrorism, he would recommend even more stringent military action than occurred after the Netanya bombing. And what happened after that, as you know, was the biggest, most large scale Israeli military operation in 20 years.

You have to go back to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the early-80's to find something comparable -- Leon.

HARRIS: How well we do remember that.

Wolf Blitzer reporting live from Jerusalem. And we'll be seeing you quite a bit throughout the day, Wolf. Very nice going yesterday.

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