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American Morning
Interview With Benjamin Netanyahu
Aired January 06, 2003 - 07:35 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: From one flashpoint to another, let's turn our attention now to the Middle East, where Israeli troops have arrested two Islam jihad militants near Hebron. We are told these arrests are not linked to yesterday's deadly attack, but to an attack back on December 27.
The suicide bombings yesterday in Tel Aviv killed 22 people, injured more than 100 others. Israel later responded with missile attacks on targets in Gaza City and put into place a series of restrictions on Palestinians.
Joining us now from Tel Aviv, Israeli's foreign minister and former prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Good to see you again, Mr. Netanyahu.
Welcome back.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: Thank you, Paula.
ZAHN: I know there's a little bit of a delay here, so we'll get started.
First of all, in a series of statements, two different groups claimed responsibility for the bombings yesterday, later retracted those statements.
Who do you think is responsible for these latest bombings?
NETANYAHU: Our best indication is that this is the Fatah Tinzine (ph), the group, the military wing of Fatah, that is subordinate to Yasser Arafat. They've carried out scores of such attacks in the last two years. They've murdered many, many Israelis and in this case they've murdered many, many non-Israelis. In fact, they knew deliberately that they would be killing our civilians, but also the nationals of other people, because the place they chose is a very well known place of foreign workers in Tel Aviv. So they were out to kill indiscriminately anybody.
You know, I just came back from the hospital with the foreign ambassadors, the ambassadors of China, the Philippines and Moldavia, whose citizens were wounded there, and we had Bulgarians murdered and people from Ghana murdered, just all of humanity. These people were just killing indiscriminately and there we were in the hospital where Israeli doctors were saving lives indiscriminately, Israelis and non- Israelis alike. And I think that just dramatizes what we're facing here, this inhuman fanaticism, this barbarism and, on the one side, and our humanity on the other side. That's the sum of what this battle is about.
ZAHN: Are you also assigning blame to the Palestinian Authority here?
NETANYAHU: Oh, without a doubt. I mean, you know, these people are, call Arafat their leader. They are part of his movement. He hasn't called them in. He hasn't said, you know, stop this. I order you, I forbid you to do this. He hasn't stopped the incitement. He finances them. He has these suicide schools, suicide kindergarten camp.
I wish I could show you something I'm going to show the foreign press, but you're welcome to use it and bring any Palestinian to respond to it. I've just taken material from the schools, the Palestinian schools run under Yasser Arafat and you show these little children who are saying our goal is to blow ourselves up and murder as many Israelis as we can.
This is what they teach little children. Aside from being a war crime under the Geneva Convention, it is also a crime against peace, against the possibility of any reconciliation.
Whatever conflicts we have with each other, we should be able to resolve them peacefully and not by sending children into the fire so that they blow up other children and other innocent people. That effectively is what Arafat is doing.
ZAHN: In the interest of fairness here, I wanted to share with you something the Palestinian Authority has put out. They are saying they're not to blame for the bombings and yesterday here is what Saeb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, had to say about Israelis pointing any fingers at this organization.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: This broken record that I've been hearing from the Israeli officials, assigning blame and finger pointing at us, we totally reject this. Since November 21, there haven't been any suicide bombers. So the Sharon government claims credit to itself and when something goes wrong, they blame it on us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: And Mr. Netanyahu, he went on to say that these restrictions that you're going to put in place will add to the complexity of the problem here. In his words, he said, "This will not provide security for anyone. It is a surrender to those who want to sabotage the peace process."
Your reaction?
NETANYAHU: Well, very nice words, except that Fatah is Arafat's own organization. We didn't claim responsibility for this ghoulish crime, they did. They're under him. He, in fact, is funding them. He's -- quite openly, by the way. And he is the one who's calling for a million suicide martyrs, a million shahedeen (ph). This is not an invention. You have it on your own tapes.
So, you know, whatever denials are brought forth, they're insufficient. And it's not a question of both sides, it's a question of saying something. It's a question of what the facts are. The facts are that Arafat is a classic terrorist despot, classic corrupt terrorist dictator that has to go the way the Taliban has gone, the way Saddam's corrupt, brutal regime has gone, not only for the sake of ending this terror, but I think also for allowing a new beginning, a new beginning for Israelis and Palestinians.
It's just not going to happen with this man and these groups who are subordinate to him. As long as they're here, it's just not going to happen and we're going to have more and more tragedy for Israelis and Palestinians alike. We need something else. We can do better.
ZAHN: Benjamin Netanyahu, we're going to have to leave it there this morning.
Thank you very much for joining us.
We appreciate your time.
And just a quick programming note for you. In our next hour we will be talking with the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 6, 2003 - 07:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: From one flashpoint to another, let's turn our attention now to the Middle East, where Israeli troops have arrested two Islam jihad militants near Hebron. We are told these arrests are not linked to yesterday's deadly attack, but to an attack back on December 27.
The suicide bombings yesterday in Tel Aviv killed 22 people, injured more than 100 others. Israel later responded with missile attacks on targets in Gaza City and put into place a series of restrictions on Palestinians.
Joining us now from Tel Aviv, Israeli's foreign minister and former prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Good to see you again, Mr. Netanyahu.
Welcome back.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: Thank you, Paula.
ZAHN: I know there's a little bit of a delay here, so we'll get started.
First of all, in a series of statements, two different groups claimed responsibility for the bombings yesterday, later retracted those statements.
Who do you think is responsible for these latest bombings?
NETANYAHU: Our best indication is that this is the Fatah Tinzine (ph), the group, the military wing of Fatah, that is subordinate to Yasser Arafat. They've carried out scores of such attacks in the last two years. They've murdered many, many Israelis and in this case they've murdered many, many non-Israelis. In fact, they knew deliberately that they would be killing our civilians, but also the nationals of other people, because the place they chose is a very well known place of foreign workers in Tel Aviv. So they were out to kill indiscriminately anybody.
You know, I just came back from the hospital with the foreign ambassadors, the ambassadors of China, the Philippines and Moldavia, whose citizens were wounded there, and we had Bulgarians murdered and people from Ghana murdered, just all of humanity. These people were just killing indiscriminately and there we were in the hospital where Israeli doctors were saving lives indiscriminately, Israelis and non- Israelis alike. And I think that just dramatizes what we're facing here, this inhuman fanaticism, this barbarism and, on the one side, and our humanity on the other side. That's the sum of what this battle is about.
ZAHN: Are you also assigning blame to the Palestinian Authority here?
NETANYAHU: Oh, without a doubt. I mean, you know, these people are, call Arafat their leader. They are part of his movement. He hasn't called them in. He hasn't said, you know, stop this. I order you, I forbid you to do this. He hasn't stopped the incitement. He finances them. He has these suicide schools, suicide kindergarten camp.
I wish I could show you something I'm going to show the foreign press, but you're welcome to use it and bring any Palestinian to respond to it. I've just taken material from the schools, the Palestinian schools run under Yasser Arafat and you show these little children who are saying our goal is to blow ourselves up and murder as many Israelis as we can.
This is what they teach little children. Aside from being a war crime under the Geneva Convention, it is also a crime against peace, against the possibility of any reconciliation.
Whatever conflicts we have with each other, we should be able to resolve them peacefully and not by sending children into the fire so that they blow up other children and other innocent people. That effectively is what Arafat is doing.
ZAHN: In the interest of fairness here, I wanted to share with you something the Palestinian Authority has put out. They are saying they're not to blame for the bombings and yesterday here is what Saeb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, had to say about Israelis pointing any fingers at this organization.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: This broken record that I've been hearing from the Israeli officials, assigning blame and finger pointing at us, we totally reject this. Since November 21, there haven't been any suicide bombers. So the Sharon government claims credit to itself and when something goes wrong, they blame it on us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: And Mr. Netanyahu, he went on to say that these restrictions that you're going to put in place will add to the complexity of the problem here. In his words, he said, "This will not provide security for anyone. It is a surrender to those who want to sabotage the peace process."
Your reaction?
NETANYAHU: Well, very nice words, except that Fatah is Arafat's own organization. We didn't claim responsibility for this ghoulish crime, they did. They're under him. He, in fact, is funding them. He's -- quite openly, by the way. And he is the one who's calling for a million suicide martyrs, a million shahedeen (ph). This is not an invention. You have it on your own tapes.
So, you know, whatever denials are brought forth, they're insufficient. And it's not a question of both sides, it's a question of saying something. It's a question of what the facts are. The facts are that Arafat is a classic terrorist despot, classic corrupt terrorist dictator that has to go the way the Taliban has gone, the way Saddam's corrupt, brutal regime has gone, not only for the sake of ending this terror, but I think also for allowing a new beginning, a new beginning for Israelis and Palestinians.
It's just not going to happen with this man and these groups who are subordinate to him. As long as they're here, it's just not going to happen and we're going to have more and more tragedy for Israelis and Palestinians alike. We need something else. We can do better.
ZAHN: Benjamin Netanyahu, we're going to have to leave it there this morning.
Thank you very much for joining us.
We appreciate your time.
And just a quick programming note for you. In our next hour we will be talking with the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
