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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Trouble May Loom For Arafat; Possible Terror Threat on July 4; Interview with Benjamin Netanyahu

Aired May 13, 2002 - 17:00   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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: A victory tour that may be premature. What trouble may loom for Yasser Arafat.

Trouble getting in to see the Palestinian leader, but for my crew, more trouble getting out.

Is he making things worse for his own country? I'll ask Benjamin Netanyahu why he is picking fights with Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon.

Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live from Jerusalem. You're about to see the hurdles it takes to get to an interview with Yasser Arafat.

But first, our top story. There's word today of a possible terror threat against U.S. nuclear facilities on or about the 4th of July. Our national security correspondent, David Ensor, has this report and it tops our news alert.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. officials have received word from a foreign intelligence service that Islamic terrorists might be planning an attack on a U.S. nuclear power plant on or around July 4th, the nation's birthday.

But they stress they believe the information may not be reliable at all. It comes, officials say, from a foreign government that has been wrong in the past.

The original report in "The Washington Times" mentioned the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. But U.S. officials say the intelligence information did not name any particular nuclear power plant.

An official at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the NRC is not aware of any credible threat against a specific plant. Industry officials say not only is the information about the threat likely to be wrong, but security at nuclear plants is about as good as it gets.

SCOTT PETERSON, NUCLEAR ENERGY INITIATIVE: I would challenge anybody to find an industrial facility that is more heavily fortified and physically protected against a terrorist act than nuclear power plants.

ENSOR: Another example of the dilemma U.S. officials face: are Islamic extremists stowing away on ships entering the U.S.? Probably not. But officials told CNN's Kelli Arena that an internal government memo suggested that as many as 25 Islamic extremists could have entered the U.S. since March.

U.S. officials say there is no evidence whatsoever to back up that assertion, but when another news organization reported the existence of the memo, officials confirmed that it does exist.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Since September 11th, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies have increased exponentially the amount of information they are collecting about terrorist threats. Most of it turns out not to be credible, not to be reliable.

The question for policymakers and for news editors, too, how good should the information be before they put it out? Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor reporting for us from Washington, thank you very much.

Our Web question of the day is this: how worried are you about a terrorist attack on July 4th? You can vote at cnn.com/wolf. That's my Web page. While you're there, let me know what you're thinking. Send me your comments. I'll read some of them on the air each day. That's also where you can read my daily on-line column, cnn.com/wolf.

Now to an alleged bioterror threat from a neighbor some 90 miles away. Controversy amidst this surrounds the visit to Cuba of the Former President Jimmy Carter. Our John Zarella is in Havana.

JOHN ZARELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Jimmy Carter had a very busy day today, and it started with a 3-hour tour of that controversial center for genetic engineering and biotechnology. During the last week, the Bush administration has accused Cuba of using that center to develop and work on biological weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): On his first full day in Cuba, Former President Jimmy Carter, joined by Cuban President Fidel Castro, visited the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, considered by the Castro government one of the socialist state's crowning accomplishments. But now it's under attack by the Bush administration as a place where Cuba has developed limited bioterrorism capabilities.

Before he left for Cuba, Carter said he asked intelligence experts if there was any evidence.

JIMMY CARTER, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The answer from experts on intelligence was no.

ZARELLA: Carter stepped into the middle of the Washington-Havana fray from the minute he touched down in Havana on Sunday. In his welcoming remarks, Cuban President Fidel Castro told Carter he could look at anything he wanted.

PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO, CUBA (through translator): You will have free and full access with specialized staff that you will choose. Access to that or any other prestigious scientific research center, some of which have been recently accused of producing biological weapons.

ZARELLA: Later, after a meeting with Carter, Cuba's foreign affairs minister was asked if President Castro's offer was also good for President Bush.

FELIPE PEREZ ROGUE, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (through translator): President Bush is not visiting Cuba. I do not doubt one day maybe he is. But he's not visiting Cuba now.

ZARELLA: Cuba is fiercely proud of its research institutes, which have developed vaccines for Hepatitis B and Meningitis. They're working on medicine to promote the growth of new skin. Like researchers elsewhere in the world, they're working on an AIDS vaccine and another to prevent Lyme Disease in animals.

During a rally and later a news conference, Cuba's research scientists called the bioweapons allegations lies and defended their work.

DR. JOSE LUIS FERNANDEZ, DIR, IMMUNOLOGY CENTER (through translator): After dedicating more than 35, 37, 30 years of your life and considerable effort to saving human life, it is not easy to bear these accusations so unworthy and without ethics.

ZARELLA: So far, the Bush administration has not produced any specific evidence to support the charges.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Former President Carter said that he has asked the Cuban government to be very careful and to make sure it monitors carefully the technologies that it does export to foreign countries.

And late this afternoon, President Carter issued a statement, in part saying that he was reluctant to deal with this particular issue or to address it. But he said, Wolf, "I do this because these allegations were made, maybe not coincidentally just before our visit to Cuba."

This is John Zarrella reporting live from Havana -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, John Zarella in Havana.

And this note, much more on the situation in Cuba surrounding former President Jimmy Carter's visit. Join Kate Snow tonight "LIVE FROM HAVANA, INSIDE CASTRO'S CUBA." That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Meanwhile, a major development in U.S.-Russian relations today. The two governments announcing they're ready to slash nuclear warheads. Our senior White House correspondent John King joins us now live -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And, Wolf, senior U.S. officials saying this is a reflection of how much the close Bush- Putin relationship has changed things.

Think back a little more than a decade. That's when the United States signed with the then Soviet Union the START One nuclear arms control treaty. It took a decade to negotiate. It ran 750 pages long.

This new treaty was negotiated in just six months. It runs barely three pages.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): The president calls it an arms control breakthrough and proof of a new day in U.S.-Russia relations.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And that's important. The new era will be a period of enhanced mutual security, economic security and improved relations.

KING: Presidents Bush and Putin will sign the treaty May 24th in Moscow. It commits the United States and Russia to cutting strategic nuclear arsenals by 2/3 over the next decade to a range of 1,700 to 2,200 warheads, down from the 5,000 to 7,000 warheads each country has now.

BUSH: It will make the world more peaceful and put behind us the Cold War once and for all.

KING: Mr. Bush told President Putin six months ago he would be happy with a handshake deal. But the Russian president insisted on a formal treaty.

KARL INDERFURTH, FMR. ASST. SECY OF STATE: These agreements will outlive either the Bush administration or the Putin administration. So they have to be legally binding. That's the only way that you can instill trust and confidence over the long term, in arms reductions.

KING: Russia wanted excess warheads destroyed. But the treaty allows for warheads to be kept in storage and as operational spares, which is what Mr. Bush wanted. The treaty requires Senate approval.

Initial reaction was largely positive, in part because the White House says it remains committed to a separate program aimed at helping Russia destroy warheads and protect its nuclear stockpiles.

INDERFURTH: The Russians themselves have admitted there have been questions about possible theft and diversion of those materials. We don't want to see Osama bin Laden get a Russian tactical nuclear weapon.

KING: U.S. officials say the agreement is proof of both a no- nonsense Bush style and the trust shared by the two presidents.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And officials say there will be more evidence of that when the president travels, not only in Russia but across Europe, later this month. He will sign an agreement of principles with the Russian leader that says they two countries will continue to try to work out their remaining differences over missile defense.

And after Mr. Bush leaves Russia, both he and Mr. Putin will be later in the month in Italy to sign that new agreement under which the NATO alliance will increase its cooperation with Russia. Again, Wolf, officials saying, dramatic evidence of the dramatic changes, not only in U.S.-Russia relations, but in the post-Cold War world -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John King reporting live from the White House, thank you very much.

Let's move now to the U.S. and Allied war against terror, specifically in Afghanistan. The British are announcing they've ended what they call Operation Snipe. But they say it's been a huge success in dealing with al Qaeda threats in Afghanistan.

Let's get more now from CNN's Mike Boettcher. He's in Kabul.

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, about 1,000 British Royal Marine commandos and Afghan soldiers took part in Operation Snipe. It occurred in a two week period over a 77 square mile air in eastern Afghanistan, a very rugged and mountainous terrain.

Now, the objective was to search and destroy Taliban and al Qaeda holdouts. They did find hideouts. They did find large ammunition dumps. But they did not make contact with their enemy.

Now, the commander of British forces at Bagram air base says that is not a sign of failure, but rather a sign of success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. ROGER LANE, ROYAL MARINES: The fact that al Qaeda has been forced to abandon one of the most strategically well-placed and easily defended locations in Afghanistan speaks volumes for the military and psychological impact of the coalition's operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOETTCHER: Operation Snipe is part of the larger Operation Mountain Lion, led by the United States and including all of the coalition partners. U.S. officials believe that operation will continue for some time. Its objective: to search and destroy remaining al Qaeda and Taliban holdouts.

Now, in a sign that there still is resistance out there, two rockets were fired at U.S. special forces in eastern Afghanistan on Friday. No one was hurt. About 130 members of the 101st Airborne Division went in search of those sites from where the rockets were fired. They did find them, but not the people who launched them.

Also, two other rockets aimed at British forces were found by an Afghan warlord and they were dismantled before they could be fired. And in western Afghanistan, about 60 miles north of Kandahar, U.S. special forces report they killed five Taliban fighters and captured 32. None of them are expected to be high ranking -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mike Boettcher reporting from Kabul. Thank you very much.

And Yasser Arafat left his compound in Ramallah today, the first time since December. He's been holed up there these many months. He went on a tour of the West Bank. CNN's Carol Lin reports now from the site of the fiercest fighting, Jenin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All the world was a stage today for Yasser Arafat, who knows how to give his audience exactly what they want. In Jenin, hundreds packed the municipal hall to meet their hero.

Arafat kissed the baby son of a well-known commander who died in the Jenin battle. Women wept and the crowd went wild. They surged forward just to touch the Palestinian president, or hand him notes asking for his help.

His security forces lifted the 73-year-old leader above the fray. Bent under the ceiling, Arafat shouted that Jenin proved to the world that invincible people will never kneel.

And so it went. Palestinians so overwhelmed they almost crushed Arafat as he moved through the West Bank. Earlier in Bethlehem, Manger Square was lined with supporters, although some had voiced criticism for the deal that deported 13 Palestinian militia men from the church stand-off.

In Nablus he prayed with his people and drove off like a rock star. Back in Jenin, his security (UNINTELLIGIBLE) walk through the refugee camp, fearing rowdy crowds might spill out of control.

When Arafat leaves, it's back to reality. For Abu Khalid (ph), it's watching his home of 30 years now being torn down, destroyed, he said, by the Israelis. "My next step to secure the future of my family and children," he says. "And pray to god to help us."

But for Arafat, today was for basking in the glow of the crowds, not dealing with the political heat on his authorities. And for now, Abu Khalid is sheltering his children under a tent, waiting to see what his hero, Arafat, will do. Carol Lin, CNN, Jenin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: In a moment we'll take you on a front row seat drive to the West Bank -- a drive that is not necessarily the safest in the world. Also, we'll speak with Benjamin Netanyahu. He's the former and perhaps future Prime Minister of Israel. We'll get his reaction to our exclusive interview with Yasser Arafat.

And, suspected shoe bomber Richard Reid, back in court. His lawyer tries to get him off the hook. We'll tell you what the judge had to say.

But first, more on Jimmy Carter's visit to Cuba in our "Newsquiz."

Who was the last sitting or former U.S. president to visit Cuba? Teddy Roosevelt, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, none of the above? Stay tuned for the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Yesterday around this time I was interviewing the Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in his headquarters in Ramallah. The interview was the easy part.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): The drive from Jerusalem to Ramallah is short and sweet. But not nowadays.

(on camera): We're at the Columbia checkpoint here and hopefully we'll get through. And then it will be a straight shot right to Ramallah. Our driver, Zamir, is now talking with the soldiers over there. Hopefully it's going to work out.

(voice-over): The good news, it works out. But only after we get out of our armored truck and let the guards inspect our press passes and bags.

They removed the barbed wire and we're on a final stretch to Ramallah. The streets are deserted. The shops are closed.

(on camera): We're now approaching the headquarters. Our viewers may remember, during the Israel siege, this is where Yasser Arafat was holed up for weeks and weeks and weeks. And eventually the siege ended. And he's still here. And we're about to drive in.

(voice-over): They've cleaned up the compound to a degree, but there's still plenty of rubble.

(on camera): Hi. Wolf Blitzer. Nice to meet you. Thank you very much, sir.

(voice-over): We squeeze through the sandbags and enter the main building. Armed guards are everywhere. We hook up with CNN's Rula Amin, who's on the scene.

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

BLITZER: I had assumed we'd have to wait patiently, perhaps for hours. But to our amazement, Yasser Arafat was ready.

(on camera): This is our producer, Linda Roth. She came with me from Washington.

YASSER ARAFAT, PALESTINIAN LEADER: All right. I am married now.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER (voice-over): Arafat turns on the charm, telling us he's a married man. We laugh and go into our interview.

(on camera): Mr. President, thank you so much for joining me. I don't know if you prefer to be called Mr. President or Mr. Chairman. What do you prefer?

ARAFAT: Both, because I am president for one part and I am chairman in another part.

OK, I'll call you Mr. President, if that's OK.

ARAFAT: As you like.

BLITZER: Do you know who is responsible for the latest suicide bombing in Rishon Letzion?

ARAFAT: No, not yet. Not yet.

BLITZER: Was it Hamas?

ARAFAT: Until now, no one had declared his responsible about it.

BLITZER: But could you, could you -- you're the president of the Palestinian Authority -- could you do more, can you do more, as the president of the United States and the prime minister of Israel, are appealing to you, to stop?

ARAFAT: I would like to ask you why they are not dealing with Israeli (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to stop this military escalation against our people, against our children. Using all kinds of weapons. F-15s, F- 16s, helicopters, tanks, army fighters, rockets. Even from their Navy, even the plated uranium.

And you remember, American mission had searched fixed this fact, which you know that it is forbidden. And the annihilation all over all our roads. And beside it, the siege everywhere. What happened in the Nativity Church? Who can accept this?

BLITZER: We'll get to all those.

ARAFAT: Who can accept this?

BLITZER: Let's get to all of that in a second.

ARAFAT: No, who can accept this? You have to remember that this escalation, military escalation, and humiliation to our people will reflect to accept or not accept reaction. BLITZER (voice-over): Arafat blames Ariel Sharon for the 19 months of violence, citing Sharon's visit to the area of the al-Aqsa mass in Jerusalem, the so-called Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary, after the collapse of the Camp David negotiations.

(on camera): Yes, he went to the Noble Sanctuary, the Temple Mount, as it's called, in Jerusalem. But did that...

ARAFAT: Please, please, let me finish, to understand the facts. Not only that, I remind him that there is an order from the hero, Mushid Ajan (ph), not to make any visit for this mosque. And you remember the fire which had been done in this mosque. And after that...

BLITZER: By the Australian.

ARAFAT: Yes. And after that, the Arab conference started.

BLITZER: That was an Australian Christian. It was not an Israeli.

ARAFAT: Not Christian.

BLITZER: He was Christian.

ARAFAT: No, no, no. You haven't -- you haven't returned back to the facts. You are a leader. You are not a (UNINTELLIGIBLE). You must remember the facts and realities. And not to say he's a Christian. No, he wasn't.

BLITZER: What was he?

ARAFAT: He was a Jew. And not alone, not one alone. They were a gang. Not to forget you are speaking with Yasser Arafat.

BLITZER: I understand that. And I'll double check that.

(voice-over): We later do a fact check and confirm that the Australian, Dennis Michael Rohan, was a Christian -- a mentally- disturbed tourist who on August 21, 1969, set fire to the mosque, causing serious damage and sparking rioting by Arabs.

Later, during our conversation, Arafat professes his affection for Jews.

ARAFAT: When I was a small boy, I used to play side by side. I was living with my uncle in Jerusalem. And I used to go as a small boy to play with the Jews in the Jewish quarter. And they used to come to play with me in my area. You forget this? I was a small boy. But it's still in my mind.

Historically, we were living together. We never called -- do you know that until now we don't call them Jews? You know what we called them? Our cousins.

Still, it is a popular pronounce. We never say Jews. We say he is one of our cousins. Because historically, we are cousins.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Much more of my interview with Yasser Arafat coming up. What does he really think about President Bush? And we'll also show you some of the dangers on our drive out of Ramallah back to Jerusalem.

We'll also have a live interview with Benjamin Netanyahu. Why is he engaged in a political showdown with the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon? I'll ask him face to face.

Also, bees taking orders from the Pentagon? Learn why they're being enlisted. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In our news alert, the Pentagon reportedly is training ordinary honeybees to do extraordinary work. "The New York Times" says the bees have been taught to hone in on small traces of explosives. It's seen as a preliminary step toward creating a detection system that would use the buzzing and swarming insects to find truck bombs and other hidden explosives.

The war on terrorism is getting a big boost on American highways. The trucking industry is enlisting 3 million drivers to help authorities keep an eye out for suspicious activities. The drivers will receive special training and they'll be asked to monitor bridges, highways, tunnels and ports -- and fellow truckers, as well.

U.S. special forces have killed five suspected Taliban fighters and captured 32 others in a clash in western Afghanistan over the weekend. A senior Pentagon official says the five were killed after opening fire on U.S. troops about 60 miles north of Kandahar. The 32 suspected Taliban fighters were taken into custody after the shoot- out.

Much of my interview with Yasser Arafat dealt with his relationship with Israel. But I also sought to press him about his relationship with the president of the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

What do you think of the son?

ARAFAT: He's an active -- very active. In this very short time he became very, very active. Not only in the states, but the world.

BLITZER: So far he refuses to meet with you.

ARAFAT: No, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) but I am in permanent contact with him on the phone, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the last time I had received...

BLITZER: Is he a fair man? Do you have confidence in President Bush? ARAFAT: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) not to forget what he has done and in Afghanistan, he fulfilled (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and what he had mentioned before that, in general assembly, there in general assembly, when he say independent Palestinian state.

BLITZER: He is the first president to do so -- first U.S. president.

ARAFAT: Yes. Yes I know. For this I am sending to him through you, again, as I had send it before, my thanks from my heart.

BLITZER: I remember as a younger reporter and you were a younger man, I was in the U.N. General Assembly, I think it was 1974, and you spoke of an olive branch.

ARAFAT: 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 don't forget, when I left Beirut, and you remember...

BLITZER: I was in Beirut then.

ARAFAT: Yes. When they ask me, where are you going, Arafat, I said to them, to Palestine. And now we are in Palestine. And we hope that we will have this independent state side by side with Israel, Israeli Jewish state.

BLITZER: That's a significant statement you just made.

ARAFAT: No, for me, not to forget (UNINTELLIGIBLE) our cousins and in Palestine, we are Jews and we have very good relations with them.

BLITZER: Are you prepared now to promise the United States, the people of Israel, 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 power 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 am saying that and their leaders, their main leaders is not here. Their main leaders are outside. And in spite of that, I am following, and this what have been decided in our leadership, in our cabinet, in our executive committee, and have been accepted by all the Palestinians, and have been accepted by the majority of the Israeli people. And I am very happy that is big majority of the Israeli people are with the peace.

BLITZER: They would be ready to make peace if they are convinced you were sincere. Remember when Sadat...

ARAFAT: They know that I am...

BLITZER: Remember when Sadat came to Jerusalem in 1977?

ARAFAT: Yes. But not to forget...

BLITZER: They were convinced, because Sadat was sincere.

ARAFAT: Not to forget, I used to go to the house of my partner...

BLITZER: Rabin.

ARAFAT: I used to go to the house of Prime Minister Barak. I used to go to many places there. You know that.

BLITZER: Shimon Peres.

ARAFAT: With Shimon Peres. And not to forget, there is a permanent contact between us and Israelis, still now, for the peace. The last meeting took place in Paris between our speaker and the speaker -- and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and they prevented him to continue his mission.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

ARAFAT: Thank you.

BLITZER: Let's hope there will be peace.

(voice-over): As quickly as Arafat came in, he left. And so did we.

(on camera): Watch your step, it as little thin here.

(voice-over): Outside, we take a brief tour.

(on camera): We're here in the mukata. These are the destroyed cars. You can see this one here. If you get really close you see it says "police." This used to be a police vehicle. You see the p-o-l. That used to be a police vehicle. Obviously during the battle that ensued here, all of these cars were literally destroyed. Sort of barricaded here. I guess they could remove it, but I'm guessing it is just a memory that they will keep it here for a while just to remember what happened during the siege here in the mukaka.

If you look over here , this is the main entrance where the president of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, receives his guests, his visitors. That's where we walked through. It is now obviously late here. But people are still buzzing. They like to work at night. All right, let's go back.

(voice-over): We get back into our armored truck and head to Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

The drive to Jerusalem was uneventful except for one point when we got to an Israeli military checkpoint. It was the middle of the night probably around 1 a.m., 2:00 a.m., the soldiers were very, very nervous when they saw our car drive up. We waited inside. We really couldn't hear anything because once you're inside an armored truck, you have no possibility of hearing anything.

Later eventually our driver, Samir, did get outside. He was told by one of the Israeli soldiers later, had we waited much longer in that car, they were getting very nervous seeing us. They don't know what specifically they would have done but they were getting ready for action. Fortunately everything worked out fine. They let us go through very easily. They were very nice. We got to Jerusalem and here we are now.

When we come back, we will get live reaction to what Yasser Arafat just said. And also, to what happened in Tel Aviv yesterday, a political brouhaha. We will speak live with the former and perhaps future prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Also, a family tour got gone bad. A lion attacks at Busch Gardens. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Let's get some reaction now to the interview I just had with Yasser Arafat. Joining me here live is the former prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. We are going to get, Mr. Prime minister, to what happened in Tel Aviv yesterday, but Yasser Arafat did say very clearly -- I pressed him, had to squeeze it out of him -- but he said he is ready to live in peace alongside Israel as a Jewish state. Isn't that precisely what you wanted to hear?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It's not what we hear and what you squeeze out of him. It's what he tells his people in Arabic, and he tells them very clearly, he doesn't want a Palestinian state next to Israel. He wants one instead of Israel.

This could have been fairly comic. This interview if it wasn't so serious. Arafat says he loves Jews. Well, he loves them so much that his goons have murdered and blown up hundreds of innocent people, innocent boys and girls and babies and mothers and old people deliberately. He loves Jews that much. He said -- he says he'll live side by side in peace with Israel while he's bringing in weapon ships from Iran and bombs to bomb us.

He says he's against terror and he's signing the checks. We found the checks in his headquarters in his own handwriting in which he pays... BLITZER: He says that was his signature but he was giving money to people who needed the money and not necessarily to those who would go out and commit suicide bombings. But he did say...

NETANYAHU: Do you believe that?

BLITZER: I'm asking the questions -- you'll give the answers. The whole point is that he says he's doing the best he can, but the Israeli military is undermining his ability to do the job by destroying so much of his infrastructure.

NETANYAHU: Is that right? He's got 30 -- actually 40,000 armed police -- really an army -- more than any other regime in the world per square inch. He's got police in Gaza. He doesn't stop them, we just had a suicide bomber from Gaza. Nothing was done in Gaza by Israel to supposedly break up his structure. So it is not a problem of facilities, it's a problem of will, of his inclination and his inclination is to use terror as it suits him. And I think you'd understand why, in fact, what you said was right, that when we had a Sadat, Egypt's late president, we trusted him. We knew he talked peace to his people, and then when he talked peace to us we knew it was genuine.

When we had King Hussein of Jordan, we trusted him. We know he talked peace to his people and he talked peace to us. When we have Arafat we know it is double talk and he could say anything he wants even to Wolf Blitzer, but it just doesn't count. What counts is what he says to his own people and what he does.

BLITZER: Let's talk about this political battle that is underway here in Israel. A lot of friends of Israel, people in the United States and the American Jewish community are probably confused right now, why at this time is Benjamin Netanyahu supposedly seeking to undermine the prime minister of Israel.

NETANYAHU: I'm sure is it a appears that way, and has been spun that way, but it is just not true. This is an issue that was brought forward, actually by the prime minister himself. We didn't need to...

BLITZER: But he didn't want the resolution that would bar a Palestinian state.

NETANYAHU: I think he wanted the opposite. And I think when people were forced to make a decision, do they want a Palestinian state, even in the future a settlement, they are concerned about having a year and a half of terror from what is now less than a state. And they are concerned, what happens if Arafat gets all the powers of state; the power to field an army, the power to bring in weapons, unlimited weapons, the power to make military pacts with Iraq and Iran. And they were saying, that is not how we envision peace.

BLITZER: But you know what Sharon says. He says maybe there will be a future Palestinian leadership that would want to live in peace with Israel. Why rule out the possibility of having what they call a two-state solution? NETANYAHU: I hope so, and I think nobody with a future leadership that's not Arafat, and doesn't have his inclinations, I think everybody would like to see finally a peace appear because we're praying for peace, we need it badly. But I don't think anyone would like to govern a single Palestinian. There's not a single person in Likud that I know that wants to govern Palestinians to go back to Gaza or Jenin and so on. We just want to make sure they cannot -- not govern us, but destroy us.

BLITZER: So is this the opening salvo of Benjamin Netanyahu run to become the next prime minister of Israel?

NETANYAHU: Wolf, if I wanted to be prime minister, I would have been prime minister. And you know, at the time when I refused to run, even though it was clear that I would win in the last elections...

BLITZER: When Sharon had a landslide.

NETANYAHU: Yes, the same would have a happened, if I did not run, for me. I declined to run, and people didn't pay attention. They had, you know, who is up, who is down. What is the issue. What is the issue, and nobody paid attention to what I was saying, and I was saying the substantive thing was, I didn't think that a government would, supposedly a national unity government, but actually would be incoherent, would be able to resolve, to bring back Israel's security and resolve the other outstanding problems that we have.

Today or yesterday, people are focusing on the personal, who's up, who's down, it's not important. It really isn't. Focus on the issues. You know, I seldom read speeches, I seldom read speeches. Here I read a speech because I wanted people to hear exactly every word I said on what I think is pivotal for my country's future. That is, that while we can have a peace settlement, with complete self government for the Palestinians, we cannot have a peace settlement in which there would be powers vested in that Palestinian entity that could destroy Israel.

There are many models of sovereignty, many, and it has been discussed in the international community and academia, and nobody says that you have to full fledged unlimited sovereignty, and I don't thing you would have that either. I think we would want self-government for the Palestinians, security for Israel and there's a way to balance the two. That's what the people were saying yesterday.

BLITZER: All right, we'll have to continue this conversation another time. Benjamin Netanyahu, thanks for staying up late tonight.

NETANYAHU: Thank you.

BLITZER: It's after midnight here.

NETANYAHU: Yes, it is.

BLITZER: You should get back to sleep.

NETANYAHU: I am going to that right away. BLITZER: Thanks.

NETANYAHU: Thank you.

BLITZER: When we come back, there is new information on that lion attack at Busch Gardens. We will have that. But first, the answer to our news quiz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Earlier we asked: "Who was the last U.S. president or former U.S. president to visit Cuba?" The answer is Calvin Coolidge, the 30th U.S. president.

In 1928, Coolidge attended the 6th annual American conference of American states in Havana. Other than his 1905 honeymoon to Montreal, this was Coolidge's only trip outside the U.S. as president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: CNN's Martin Savidge is standing by in Atlanta with a quick check of some other major developments -- Marty.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Wolf, very much. Lawyers for alleged shoe-bomber Richard Reid want to get him off the hook on at least one of the nine counts he is charged with. Reid is accused with trying to ignite explosives packed in his shoes while on a trans-Atlantic flight that was last December.

And a hearing today in Boston. The judge seemed to support that request, saying two of the counts dealing with attempted destruction of the plane appeared redundant. The judge didn't rule, though, on the issue.

Lawyers were also seeking to drop charges in another terrorism- related case against accused Taliban-American, John Walker Lindh. CNN national correspondent, Bob Franken, has the details from Washington. Bob, how important are the charges they're seeking to drop?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are seeking to drop half of the counts against him. The most significant one is count one. That is the one that alleges, quote,"that he engaged in a conspiracy to kill nationals of the United States including civilians and military people" -- that is the one that carries a life sentence. Already Lindh's lawyers are trying to have his statements he made to officials suppressed, taken out of the case because they don't meet Constitutional muster.

But now they are also saying the charge should be dropped because an of international law principle called "combat immunity." Specifically that Lindh "can not be criminally prosecuted simply for taking part in an armed conflict." It is one of those difficulties again where international law and the U.S. law, which is being used for the prosecution, defense attorneys want to try and exploit any gaps between the two -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: What about the other counts?

FRANKEN: The other counts, some of the lesser counts, specifically talking about providing material support to the Taliban and al Qaeda. What they're saying here, is that the law under which he was charged is being exceeded. That John Walker Lindh provided only services, not covered by the law.

This is all very treacherous legal ground. There is a lot of emotional investment in the United States, in the case of John Walker Lindh, but there is some very difficult legal issues that the judge in the hearing last week said if they're not taken care of then, quote, "the government may not be able to proceed against the defendant."

So it is really a shaky case, but it is a case that is going to be argued on very important legal principles before it goes to trial, if and when it does.

SAVIDGE: Bob Franken, thanks very much.

A lion turns on its keeper at a Florida theme park. We will tell you what became of both of them when we return. Plus, up in smoke. A massive fire at a refinery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Now checking these stories on today's news wire:

Authorities in Texas are trying to determine the cause of a fire that broke out this morning at a Shell Oil refinery near Houston. That blaze was brought under control in about an hour and a half. There are no reports of any injuries.

Drenching rains are causing problems from Texas to New England. And in the waterlogged Midwest, that is making the flood situation even worse. At least two flood-related deaths are reported in the region. Some of the worst problems are along the Mississippi River in Missouri and Illinois.

From Tampa, Florida, there is word today that the lion that bit off the arm of a zoo keeper at Busch Gardens will not be destroyed. Park officials are reviewing their safety policies after yesterday's attack. The 350-pound animal attacked the zoo keeper when the woman was giving relatives and friends a behind-the-scenes tour of the lion's sleeping quarters. Doctors say they were unable to reattach the arm.

Let's go to New York now and get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE," which begins at the top of the hour -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Martin, thank you. Coming up tonight: two Cold War enemies agree to a landmark arm's treaty -- the United States and Russia -- to substantially reduce nuclear arsenals. We will be going live to the White House.

A split within Israel's right wing Likud Party has complicated Middle East peace efforts even further. Senator George Mitchell, the architect of the Mitchell peace plan for the Middle East is my guest tonight.

And we begin tonight our special series of reports on the state of our nation's infrastructure, "America's Shaky Foundations." Tonight we take a look at the worrisome condition of our roads and highways across the country. All of that and lot more at the top of the hour. Please join us.

Now to Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou. We'll be watching.

How worried should you be about a fourth of July attack? The answer to our Web question, let us know what you are thinking. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll bring you the results in two minutes. And we will have your comments and criticism of my interview with Yasser Arafat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now the results of our Web question of the day: How worried are you about a terrorist attack on July 4? Listen to this: 13 percent say very worried; 35 percent say somewhat worried, 52 percent say not worried. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

Time now to hear from you. Some comments, reaction to my interview with Yasser Arafat. Ronen (ph) writes: "You had to pull Chairman Arafat's teeth before he would answer your questions clearly. Thank you for you persistence and demanding straight answers to real questions. The chairman's hedging and convoluted speech was very revealing."

Robert was not impressed: "You let Arafat control the interview instead of pressing him for harder answers. He worked you to perfection."

Thanks for the comments, Robert.

That's all the time we have today. Tomorrow, we will be in Tel Aviv. We will show you what life is like here in Israel under the threat of constant terror. Until then thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem. LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE begins right now.

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