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CNN Live At Daybreak
Middle East Suicide Attacks
Aired May 19, 2003 - 06:03 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: On to Israel now, a new edict from the prime minister there: If you meet with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, we will boycott you -- this, in response to a series of suicide bombings in Israel.
We take you live to Jerusalem now to get details on the bombings and the effects they're having on the so-called road map to peace.
Good morning -- Jerrold Kessel.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
And normally, suicide bombers have come on foot or they have been driven to their location where they set off their bombs. This time, the young Palestinian from a refugee camp in Gaza set out on a bicycle, and he blew up his bicycle, blew himself up, alongside an Israeli military patrol outside a Jewish settlement in the central part of the Gaza Strip. The young Palestinian killed himself, wounded slightly three Israeli soldiers.
This is the latest in a series of Hamas since five suicide bombings have taken place in the West Bank against other Jewish settler targets and inside northeastern Jerusalem. Yesterday, the deadliest of those attacks came when the bomber blew himself up aboard an early morning bus, killing seven passengers -- six Israelis and a Palestinian -- as they set out, mostly middle-aged and elderly people, heading out to their jobs early in the morning.
In the wake of those attacks, Israel last night blew up the house of one the suicide bombers, the man who had attacked a Jewish settler couple and killed them in Hebron, the divided West Bank city, on Friday night. His home was demolished in Hebron.
The three bombers of yesterday and the day before are believed all to have been affiliated to Hamas in Hebron.
And the Israeli government under Ariel Sharon (UNINTELLIGIBLE) postponed his planned departure for that scheduled meeting, which was to have taken place tomorrow at the White House with President Bush. Mr. Sharon convened his full cabinet yesterday, discussion about what Israel should do. Israel clamped down a closure on the West Bank and Gaza that is preventing all Palestinians from crossing into Israel, mainly affecting tens of thousands of Palestinian workers who earn their living at jobs inside Israel.
But the Israelis held back from major activities. Mr. Sharon saying he didn't want to destabilize the new government of Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen, and saying he's prepared to meet him again. And he won't meet those overseas visitors who have come to meet with Yasser Arafat. The Israelis are blaming Yasser Arafat for being linked to this latest spate of terror attacks...
COSTELLO: Yes, I was just going to about that, Jerrold.
KESSEL: ... Carol.
COSTELLO: Why bring Yasser Arafat into this? Why say that they're going to boycott anybody who meets with Yasser Arafat?
KESSEL: Because the Israelis are adamant. They say that Mr. Arafat is the gray eminance (ph), if you like, behind the latest spate of terror attacks; that he has never abandoned the dual policy of both trying to talk peace, but at the same time encouraging the bombers to act. And they say Abu Mazen, the new Palestinian prime minister, must split himself off from Yasser Arafat completely. They're worried their attempt and that of the United States to sideline Yasser Arafat hasn't succeeded.
So, Ariel Sharon is saying now he will boycott, he will not meet with any visiting diplomats who come here if they meet with Yasser Arafat -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jerrold Kessel live from Jerusalem, many thanks.
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 May 19, 2003 - 06:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On to Israel now, a new edict from the prime minister there: If you meet with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, we will boycott you -- this, in response to a series of suicide bombings in Israel.
We take you live to Jerusalem now to get details on the bombings and the effects they're having on the so-called road map to peace.
Good morning -- Jerrold Kessel.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
And normally, suicide bombers have come on foot or they have been driven to their location where they set off their bombs. This time, the young Palestinian from a refugee camp in Gaza set out on a bicycle, and he blew up his bicycle, blew himself up, alongside an Israeli military patrol outside a Jewish settlement in the central part of the Gaza Strip. The young Palestinian killed himself, wounded slightly three Israeli soldiers.
This is the latest in a series of Hamas since five suicide bombings have taken place in the West Bank against other Jewish settler targets and inside northeastern Jerusalem. Yesterday, the deadliest of those attacks came when the bomber blew himself up aboard an early morning bus, killing seven passengers -- six Israelis and a Palestinian -- as they set out, mostly middle-aged and elderly people, heading out to their jobs early in the morning.
In the wake of those attacks, Israel last night blew up the house of one the suicide bombers, the man who had attacked a Jewish settler couple and killed them in Hebron, the divided West Bank city, on Friday night. His home was demolished in Hebron.
The three bombers of yesterday and the day before are believed all to have been affiliated to Hamas in Hebron.
And the Israeli government under Ariel Sharon (UNINTELLIGIBLE) postponed his planned departure for that scheduled meeting, which was to have taken place tomorrow at the White House with President Bush. Mr. Sharon convened his full cabinet yesterday, discussion about what Israel should do. Israel clamped down a closure on the West Bank and Gaza that is preventing all Palestinians from crossing into Israel, mainly affecting tens of thousands of Palestinian workers who earn their living at jobs inside Israel.
But the Israelis held back from major activities. Mr. Sharon saying he didn't want to destabilize the new government of Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen, and saying he's prepared to meet him again. And he won't meet those overseas visitors who have come to meet with Yasser Arafat. The Israelis are blaming Yasser Arafat for being linked to this latest spate of terror attacks...
COSTELLO: Yes, I was just going to about that, Jerrold.
KESSEL: ... Carol.
COSTELLO: Why bring Yasser Arafat into this? Why say that they're going to boycott anybody who meets with Yasser Arafat?
KESSEL: Because the Israelis are adamant. They say that Mr. Arafat is the gray eminance (ph), if you like, behind the latest spate of terror attacks; that he has never abandoned the dual policy of both trying to talk peace, but at the same time encouraging the bombers to act. And they say Abu Mazen, the new Palestinian prime minister, must split himself off from Yasser Arafat completely. They're worried their attempt and that of the United States to sideline Yasser Arafat hasn't succeeded.
So, Ariel Sharon is saying now he will boycott, he will not meet with any visiting diplomats who come here if they meet with Yasser Arafat -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jerrold Kessel live from Jerusalem, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
