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CNN Live At Daybreak
Rough Road to Peace in Middle East
Aired May 23, 2003 - 06:05 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 and that road map to peace. Ariel Sharon has been loathed to accept the plan, but there is word this morning that he has changed his mind. But does that mean a major change in direction? And how will the Palestinians reaction?
We take you live to Jerusalem and John Vause, who has all of the answers for us this morning.
Good morning -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, we've heard already from the Palestinian information minister. He's quoted on the Associated Press as saying that the Palestinians are ready to implement the road map as one package, that it will accept no changes. But we're told by Israeli sources that they're expecting a statement from the White House in just a few hours from now, saying that the administration has accepted most of the Israeli concerns, and that those concerns will be dealt with as the peace process moves forward.
Now, key of those concerns is that the Palestinians deal with terrorism before the actual road map begins. Now, we've had five suicide bombings in a spate of less than 48 hours here in Israel, so pressure is growing on the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, to crack down on the militants, on the terrorists.
But already a setback for the new prime minister. Last night, he met with the leaders of the Islamic militant group, Hamas, in Gaza. He went there asking for a cease-fire, asking them to halt those attacks on Israelis. He walked away with nothing. They offered him a partial truce and saying they will stop the attacks if Israel stops hunting down militants. But Israeli officials described that as a non-starter. They said they wouldn't accept it before, and they're certainly not going to accept it now.
And the problem for Mahmoud Abbas is that he just doesn't have the power base at the moment to go after the militants, especially Hamas in areas like the West Bank and Gaza.
And just before that meeting between Hamas and the new Palestinian prime minister, Israel announced that it had intercepted a fishing boat, which had come from Lebanon. They say it was heading to Gaza. And on that fishing boat, they say, a senior Hezbollah bomb- maker, bringing with him CD-ROMs of information on how to make bombs, information on such things as where to stand on a bus to cause the most amount of damage. Israel, for its part, says there are clear ties between this fishing boat, the Hezbollah bomb-maker and the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat. Israel says the Palestinian Authority is basically bankrupt, and Yasser Arafat is the only one with the money to finance something like this.
Now, a spokesman for the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, has denied any connection to that fishing boat, to this Hezbollah bomb-maker -- Carol.
COSTELLO: John Vause bringing us up-to-date live from Jerusalem 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 May 23, 2003 - 06:05 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 and that road map to peace. Ariel Sharon has been loathed to accept the plan, but there is word this morning that he has changed his mind. But does that mean a major change in direction? And how will the Palestinians reaction?
We take you live to Jerusalem and John Vause, who has all of the answers for us this morning.
Good morning -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, we've heard already from the Palestinian information minister. He's quoted on the Associated Press as saying that the Palestinians are ready to implement the road map as one package, that it will accept no changes. But we're told by Israeli sources that they're expecting a statement from the White House in just a few hours from now, saying that the administration has accepted most of the Israeli concerns, and that those concerns will be dealt with as the peace process moves forward.
Now, key of those concerns is that the Palestinians deal with terrorism before the actual road map begins. Now, we've had five suicide bombings in a spate of less than 48 hours here in Israel, so pressure is growing on the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, to crack down on the militants, on the terrorists.
But already a setback for the new prime minister. Last night, he met with the leaders of the Islamic militant group, Hamas, in Gaza. He went there asking for a cease-fire, asking them to halt those attacks on Israelis. He walked away with nothing. They offered him a partial truce and saying they will stop the attacks if Israel stops hunting down militants. But Israeli officials described that as a non-starter. They said they wouldn't accept it before, and they're certainly not going to accept it now.
And the problem for Mahmoud Abbas is that he just doesn't have the power base at the moment to go after the militants, especially Hamas in areas like the West Bank and Gaza.
And just before that meeting between Hamas and the new Palestinian prime minister, Israel announced that it had intercepted a fishing boat, which had come from Lebanon. They say it was heading to Gaza. And on that fishing boat, they say, a senior Hezbollah bomb- maker, bringing with him CD-ROMs of information on how to make bombs, information on such things as where to stand on a bus to cause the most amount of damage. Israel, for its part, says there are clear ties between this fishing boat, the Hezbollah bomb-maker and the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat. Israel says the Palestinian Authority is basically bankrupt, and Yasser Arafat is the only one with the money to finance something like this.
Now, a spokesman for the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, has denied any connection to that fishing boat, to this Hezbollah bomb-maker -- Carol.
COSTELLO: John Vause bringing us up-to-date live from Jerusalem 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.
