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CNN Live At Daybreak
Israel in Control of Seven of Eight Main Cities in West Bank
Aired June 25, 2002 - 06:06 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's head overseas now to the Middle East. Israeli forces are now in control of seven of the eight main cities in the West Bank. Hebron is the latest city seized. The Israeli military moved in today. Palestinian sources say four policemen were killed by the Israelis.
And we want to get more now from Jerrold Kessel, who is live in Jerusalem -- good morning to you again, Jerrold.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And even as the Israelis continue their actions in the Palestinian towns of the West Bank in this ongoing battle to combat the Palestinian suicide bombers, its source is what the Israelis say they are doing by entrenching themselves in the Palestinian towns. All of this is being played out again to the backdrop of that enunciation of the U.S. vision of how to get out of this conflict, how best to resolve it as laid out by President Bush yesterday.
And the Middle East, like many parts of the world, really relating to this as a time when the World Soccer Cup is on their minds, and they are seeing this in terms of a red card, the referee, as in soccer, giving a red card to a player who gets sent off the field for rough play. And they are seeing the president's message to Yasser Arafat in that term, as a red card to the Palestinian leader to be sidelined off this field in the Middle East, if you like.
And at the same time, they are seeing this as a green light to Ariel Sharon to go on waging his war against terror, against Palestinian terror, in the way he sees fit. And that indeed is the context in which the Israeli actions in Hebron are being seen today. The Israeli forces went into the Palestinian Dividat (ph) -- Dividat (ph) town is the Palestinian-controlled part of Hebron -- overnight. There were some quite fierce battles there.
Four Palestinian policemen reported killed, as Israel also blew up what they say -- the Israeli forces say were weapons-making and bomb-making factories in Hebron, and have really taken over the main structure of the Palestinian Authority, of the Palestinian Authority police, the big, old military government headquarters, where they are entrenched and they are entrenching themselves in Hebron as they have been doing throughout the West Bank.
And it's in this context, too, that the Palestinians are seeing the Bush speech yesterday. They are perhaps disguising their dismay at the fact that Mr. Bush gave that red card to Yasser Arafat, perhaps sidelining on that and focusing on the vision down the line of a Palestinian state in the future, the end of occupation, as the president spelt it out. But there are a good deal of worries of what goes in between, of whether there is a roadmap, as the Palestinians see it, towards achieving those objectives.
Here is what we heard in a reaction to Mr. Bush's vision from a member of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority cabinet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GHASSAN KHATIB, PALESTINIAN ANALYST: Unfortunately, this speech was good only on the level of the principles. It did not present mechanisms of implementation that would be helpful in removing the current Israeli pressure and atrocities against the Palestinians. That's why if it's left to the context of this speech, I am afraid it might not be good enough to change practically the situations on the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KESSEL: Israelis not only pleased as punch with what Mr. Bush had to say about the Palestinian Authority, the need for reform, the need to battle terror, and really putting this their battle against Palestinian terror in the context of the global war on terror. That's the way they also interpret what Mr. Bush had to say, but saying really that it might make its mark, despite the fact that it is only a vision down the line.
Here is what we heard from a leading member of Ariel Sharon's National Unity government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN MERIDOR, ISRAELI CABINET MINISTER: It's a new system. It's a new ballgame. Everybody understands what the Americans are saying. I believe it will have an effect on Europe, on the U.N., on Russians, on the other Arabs. I think the president said what he said understanding what the other moderate Arab leaders think, having learned the situation on the ground. His decision is of great importance. Does it lead immediately to resolution of the conflict? No, it doesn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KESSEL: Well, not leading to immediate resolution of the conflict, that's really an understatement. We do have this battle of the suicide bombers and Israel's forceful response to it, the reality on the ground. But the big question is: Does the president's vision as enunciated yesterday in Washington put in a new factor, as we heard Dan Meridor saying there? Or is it an irrelevancy in face of this reality on the ground? We shall see -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes. Something else to talk about, something not in President Bush's speech. Remember that international conference idea? Is that out there anymore at all? KESSEL: Well, that's quite dramatic. You are absolutely right. The fact that that didn't appear has pleased the Israelis no end. Now, let's not forget it was actually Ariel Sharon who first suggested the idea of an international conference, and I think then got worried that where this would lead. Perhaps this will lead to the internationalization of the conflict, which he didn't want to happen. I think the Israelis are very pleased that that's off the agenda.
As for the Palestinians, they have all along, during this 21 months of fighting, they have wanted an international protection more and more for them as they move towards statehood. What they fear they might be getting, as is laid out by the president, is a dictate from the international community of what they need to do to try to get to statehood. A very different matter indeed, and that's why they are not pleased and why the Israelis are pleased.
COSTELLO: Got you. Thank you -- Jerrold Kessel reporting live for us from Jerusalem this morning.
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