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CNN Live At Daybreak
Syria, Israel May Be Nearing Resumption of Talks
Aired April 29, 2003 - 05:35 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It has been four years since peace talks broke off between Israel and Syria. Now Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon may be moving towards resuming negotiations. U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos has been meeting in the region with both leaders. Mr. Assad initiated the idea of restarting the talks. Mr. Sharon says Israel is willing to talk, as long as there are no preconditions set on the matters in dispute.
When talks broke off in 1999, they were close to agreeing on Israel's return of the Golan Heights to Syria, but could not agree on Syria's insistence on maintaining the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
And now to that critical vote in the Palestinian parliament today. The parliament acts on the appointment of Prime Minister Designate Abu Mazen and his cabinet.
We want to get more on that and Israel's Holocaust Memorial day.
Joining us live from Ramallah, Jerrold Kessel -- good morning, Jerrold.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
And that's a critical session of the Palestinian legislative council, the parliament, now under way here in the Mukata headquarters of Yasser Arafat. You can probably hear and see behind me, there's high drama outside here in the courtyard, where there's been a demonstration of several hundred, mainly young Palestinians, who've been basically supporters of Arafat, calling for mainly prisoner release and saying there must be new elections, if not, this new government will be pretty meaningless.
That's been the demonstration that greeted Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen, as they walked across the courtyard here in Yasser Arafat's headquarters to this improvised hall behind us here where the session is now taking place.
The reason it was taking place here and not in the usual building of the Palestinian parliament is that Yasser Arafat, who does not want to leave this compound, fearing that the Israelis will not allow him to come back or will do something worse to him, decided he wanted to speak to the session. It has just started now and Mr. Arafat will soon be speaking and then it will be up to Abu Mazen, the new prime minister, to speak and he will then ask for the parliament to approve his new 24 person cabinet.
So high drama and a critical decision because it foresees the publication of that long awaited international peace plan for the Middle East. But while the proceedings are under way here in Ramallah, it is also being watched very closely, of course, across the -- not far from here in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel. The Israelis following these proceedings, but quite frankly today is a day in which Israelis have their focus elsewhere.
That siren blaring out in cities and all across Israel this government, two minutes of silence, people coming to attention, as Israelis pay tribute and remember the six million Jews who were killed by the Nazis during WWII. This is a solemn day, with ceremonies all over Israel remembering the six million as Israelis come to terms with that, seek to accommodate the Holocaust, how it affects them, how it affects, shapes their psyche, how it shapes their relationship to the events of the day.
It does, indeed. The Holocaust and everything that it represents is very much a factor in Israeli life, shaping Israeli psyche, and it is also a factor in the way Israelis look at their current circumstances, even in this current changing Middle East, very changing Middle East after Iraq. And now possibly after this new Palestinian cabinet, the new peace plan, perhaps even further changes ahead -- back to you for now, Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll see.
Jerrold Kessel reporting live from Ramallah this morning.
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 April 29, 2003 - 05:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It has been four years since peace talks broke off between Israel and Syria. Now Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon may be moving towards resuming negotiations. U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos has been meeting in the region with both leaders. Mr. Assad initiated the idea of restarting the talks. Mr. Sharon says Israel is willing to talk, as long as there are no preconditions set on the matters in dispute.
When talks broke off in 1999, they were close to agreeing on Israel's return of the Golan Heights to Syria, but could not agree on Syria's insistence on maintaining the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
And now to that critical vote in the Palestinian parliament today. The parliament acts on the appointment of Prime Minister Designate Abu Mazen and his cabinet.
We want to get more on that and Israel's Holocaust Memorial day.
Joining us live from Ramallah, Jerrold Kessel -- good morning, Jerrold.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
And that's a critical session of the Palestinian legislative council, the parliament, now under way here in the Mukata headquarters of Yasser Arafat. You can probably hear and see behind me, there's high drama outside here in the courtyard, where there's been a demonstration of several hundred, mainly young Palestinians, who've been basically supporters of Arafat, calling for mainly prisoner release and saying there must be new elections, if not, this new government will be pretty meaningless.
That's been the demonstration that greeted Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen, as they walked across the courtyard here in Yasser Arafat's headquarters to this improvised hall behind us here where the session is now taking place.
The reason it was taking place here and not in the usual building of the Palestinian parliament is that Yasser Arafat, who does not want to leave this compound, fearing that the Israelis will not allow him to come back or will do something worse to him, decided he wanted to speak to the session. It has just started now and Mr. Arafat will soon be speaking and then it will be up to Abu Mazen, the new prime minister, to speak and he will then ask for the parliament to approve his new 24 person cabinet.
So high drama and a critical decision because it foresees the publication of that long awaited international peace plan for the Middle East. But while the proceedings are under way here in Ramallah, it is also being watched very closely, of course, across the -- not far from here in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel. The Israelis following these proceedings, but quite frankly today is a day in which Israelis have their focus elsewhere.
That siren blaring out in cities and all across Israel this government, two minutes of silence, people coming to attention, as Israelis pay tribute and remember the six million Jews who were killed by the Nazis during WWII. This is a solemn day, with ceremonies all over Israel remembering the six million as Israelis come to terms with that, seek to accommodate the Holocaust, how it affects them, how it affects, shapes their psyche, how it shapes their relationship to the events of the day.
It does, indeed. The Holocaust and everything that it represents is very much a factor in Israeli life, shaping Israeli psyche, and it is also a factor in the way Israelis look at their current circumstances, even in this current changing Middle East, very changing Middle East after Iraq. And now possibly after this new Palestinian cabinet, the new peace plan, perhaps even further changes ahead -- back to you for now, Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll see.
Jerrold Kessel reporting live from Ramallah this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
