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CNN Live Today
Yasser Arafat Discusses Plans for Peace
Aired May 13, 2002 - 12:13 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: Middle East now. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat talking to CNN about his plans for peace. No longer confined now by Israeli tanks, Arafat left Ramallah today for the first time in six months. He toured the West Bank in various parts, including Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity.
Arafat's tour comes after Israeli lawmakers rebuffed the possibility of a Palestinian state in part.
Wolf Blitzer now talked exclusively with Yasser Arafat late on Sunday and joins us now live from Jerusalem for more on that conversation and also what's happening today.
Wolf, hello and good evening to you.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening to you, Bill -- good afternoon to you, good evening here in Jerusalem.
Let's begin with what happened today. After Yasser Arafat left Bethlehem, he went to Jenin. Remember there are two parts of Jenin. There is the city of Jenin and there's the refugee camp right alongside. He toured the city, met with local towns people, and sort of drove through, we're told, the refugee camp, flew over the refugee camp, didn't stop. He had a Jordanian helicopter that had been loaned to him for this tour that some are describing as a sort of victory tour, victory lap by the Palestinian leader.
As you say, the first time in six months he's left his Ramallah compound. He was warmly received in Jenin, but some people in the refugee camp were upset that he didn't actually stop by. That's where, of course, there was such bitter fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians during the course of the Israeli incursion over the past several weeks.
From Jenin, the Palestinian leader went to Nablus, the largest Palestinian tank on the West Bank. Warmly received there. He'll be heading back to Ramallah, of course, to spend the night.
I had gone to Ramallah in the middle of last night to interview him. Drove from Jerusalem, finally got there. We sat down, we spoke and I pressed him about his commitment to live alongside Israel and peace, and his commitment to fight terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: I remember -- I remember, when I was a younger reporter and you were a younger man, I was in the U.N. General Assembly in -- I think it was 1974, when you came and you spoke of an olive branch.
YASSER ARAFAT, PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT: Yes.
BLITZER: Are you closer today to an independent Palestinian state that will live alongside in peace with Israel than you were then?
ARAFAT: Yes. And not to forget, when I left Beirut and you remember...
BLITZER: I was in Beirut then.
ARAFAT: Yes. When they asked me, "Where are you going, Arafat?" I said then, "to Palestine." And now, we are in Palestine. And we hope that we will have this independent Palestinian state, side by side with Israeli Jewish state.
BLITZER: That's a significant statement you just made.
ARAFAT: No, for me -- not to forget, they are our cousins.
BLITZER: It took me an hour to get you to say that.
ARAFAT: No. Not to forget, we are calling them our cousins, and in Palestine, we have Jews. And you are very -- we have very good relations with them -- me personally.
BLITZER: So you can speak to the Israeli public now...
ARAFAT: And not to forget...
BLITZER: ... and the American public and say, "I accept a Jewish state called Israel?"
ARAFAT: Yes. Israel -- it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) state -- it is a Jewish state, although they had accepted recently with this -- this also came from our side, many, many others, Christians and Muslims, and there are some Palestinians still there.
And we have Jews also. And we were -- and I had discussed it in details how to me something between us and the Israelis and the Jordanians and the Lebanese -- Benelux -- like Benelux...
BLITZER: Like an economic cooperation council -- like Benelux.
ARAFAT: Benelux.
BLITZER: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg.
ARAFAT: Yes. Yes.
BLITZER: He did say, President Bush, the son, this week that your statement that you delivered on Palestinian television in Arabic, he said it was an incredibly positive sign.
ARAFAT: No doubt. And this is our -- and not to forget, this is our -- not only mine, but the Palestinian people, the Palestinian leadership, very important, are supporting this. And not only that, the majority of the Israeli people have are supporting that. And you are following what has happened, demonstrations for the peace.
BLITZER: In Tel Aviv.
ARAFAT: In Tel Aviv.
BLITZER: Are you prepared now to promise the United States, the people of Israel, the people of Palestine, everybody, that you, Yasser Arafat, the president of the Palestinian Authority, will do everything you possibly can to prevent terrorism?
ARAFAT: No doubt. This is my policy from the beginning. Although, there are some -- I don't want to say their names -- some international powers are supporting this.
BLITZER: Iraq?
ARAFAT: I am not speaking names. I will not mention any names. Have supported them.
BLITZER: Iran?
ARAFAT: I am not saying names. I'm saying that -- and their leaders, their main leaders are not here. Their main leaders are outside. And in spite of that, I am following.
And this is what has been decided in our leadership, in our cabinet, in our executive committee, and has been accepted by all the Palestinians and has been accepted by the majority of the Israeli people. And I am very happy that this big majority of the Israeli people are with the peace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And as much as the Palestinian leader sought to reach out to President Bush, what was very interesting is he also made a major point of saying how much he loved President Bush's father, the first President Bush, for taking those initial steps in recognizing the PLO, ending that break in any kind of relationship between Washington and the Palestinians -- Bill.
HEMMER: Wolf, did you get a chance to ask him about what happened yesterday in the Likud party in the Israeli side; about not recognizing a Palestinian state? Was there any talk of that, any reaction from Yasser Arafat?
BLITZER: We were speaking in Ramallah just as that Likud meeting was coming to a head. He did go out of his way to say that Netanyahu -- when Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, the political rival to Ariel Sharon within the ruling Likud party -- when Netanyahu was the deputy foreign minister and working with Yitzhak Shamir, who was then the prime minister of Israel, that Netanyahu did support the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) River Agreement, which was an outgrowth of the Oslo Agreement. So it was clear he had total disdain for Netanyahu, now leading the forces within Likud to block any Palestinian state ever being established west of the Jordan River, which was the formal language in that resolution. A major political setback, a huge embarrassment for Prime Minister Sharon.
HEMMER: Yes. And, Wolf, I'm almost running out of time here, but when we last talked at the end of last week, the focus was on Gaza. Would the Israeli military go into certain sections of the Gaza Strip? As it stands today on Monday, it has not happened. What are you hearing in terms of strategy or discussions at the highest level of the Israeli government?
BLITZER: Well, at the very highest levels, including the Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, with whom I spoke in detail about this yesterday, it's clear the Israelis got some second thoughts about the wisdom of going into Gaza. The enormous casualties the Palestinians would suffer and that constant traded strip of land, the enormous casualties the Israeli military would suffer. In his words -- Ben- Eliezer -- he says maybe it's better right now to give peace a chance, see if they can work out some sort of deal that would avoid the need for the Israelis to go into Gaza.
HEMMER: Thank you, Wolf. Wolf Blitzer, live in Jerusalem.
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