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CNN Live At Daybreak

Ariel Sharon, President Bush Hold Talks at White House

Aired July 29, 2003 - 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: Confidence-building. If it sounds like the topic of a corporate seminar, it's much bigger than that. The participants are Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Bush. They're going to confer today on how to build confidence between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Live to Jerusalem and Mike Hanna.

Mike -- can it be done?

MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, indeed, Carol, that's a question that millions of Israelis, Palestinians and people in the U.S. administration are asking, and meetings such as that taking place today between Ariel Sharon and President Bush are certainly a critical component in terms of making the implementation of the road map happen successfully.

The Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, visited Washington last week. Now, it's the turn of the Israeli prime minister. Abbas had a lot to say about where Israel is not meeting its obligations in terms of implementing the road map. The Israeli prime minister is going to be telling President Bush where he believes the Palestinians are not meeting their obligations.

Both sides are clearly looking to the U.S. president and the U.S. administration to ease what appears to be a log jam in the implementation of this process. Each side saying it's committed to getting this road map under way. At the same time, things are moving very slowly on the ground, and each side is looking to the U.S. president and the U.S. administration to get things moving a little quicker by putting pressure on the other side -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And one controversial issue they'll be talking about in Washington today is that Israeli fence. Tell us about that.

HANNA: Very much a controversial issue. This is a massive wall in parts, fence in other parts, which goes into Palestinian territory in many areas of the West Bank. The Palestinians say that this is Israel unilaterally creating a border before any negotiations have been held on what will constitute the border for a Palestinian state. Israel says that this fence, this wall, is absolutely essential to protect Israelis from terror attacks being planned by Palestinian militants.

So, a great divide between Israelis and Palestinians over this fence, and the U.S. administration in recent days has, to an extent, taken the Palestinian part, saying that this fence, this wall, cutting through Palestinian territory, isolating villages, isolating (UNINTELLIGIBLE), is unacceptable and also very, very detrimental to the implementation of the road map. Somewhere, compromise is going to have to found on this issue.

Israeli sources are saying that Ariel Sharon may be prepared to be flexible, that certainly what he is prepared to talk about is ways in which this wall, this fence, can be constructed that has minimum effect on daily Palestinian life.

It's just one of the many issues that is going to come up in what is likely to be an intense and very, very important conversation -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Mike Hanna 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 July 29, 2003 - 06:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Confidence-building. If it sounds like the topic of a corporate seminar, it's much bigger than that. The participants are Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Bush. They're going to confer today on how to build confidence between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Live to Jerusalem and Mike Hanna.

Mike -- can it be done?

MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, indeed, Carol, that's a question that millions of Israelis, Palestinians and people in the U.S. administration are asking, and meetings such as that taking place today between Ariel Sharon and President Bush are certainly a critical component in terms of making the implementation of the road map happen successfully.

The Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, visited Washington last week. Now, it's the turn of the Israeli prime minister. Abbas had a lot to say about where Israel is not meeting its obligations in terms of implementing the road map. The Israeli prime minister is going to be telling President Bush where he believes the Palestinians are not meeting their obligations.

Both sides are clearly looking to the U.S. president and the U.S. administration to ease what appears to be a log jam in the implementation of this process. Each side saying it's committed to getting this road map under way. At the same time, things are moving very slowly on the ground, and each side is looking to the U.S. president and the U.S. administration to get things moving a little quicker by putting pressure on the other side -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And one controversial issue they'll be talking about in Washington today is that Israeli fence. Tell us about that.

HANNA: Very much a controversial issue. This is a massive wall in parts, fence in other parts, which goes into Palestinian territory in many areas of the West Bank. The Palestinians say that this is Israel unilaterally creating a border before any negotiations have been held on what will constitute the border for a Palestinian state. Israel says that this fence, this wall, is absolutely essential to protect Israelis from terror attacks being planned by Palestinian militants.

So, a great divide between Israelis and Palestinians over this fence, and the U.S. administration in recent days has, to an extent, taken the Palestinian part, saying that this fence, this wall, cutting through Palestinian territory, isolating villages, isolating (UNINTELLIGIBLE), is unacceptable and also very, very detrimental to the implementation of the road map. Somewhere, compromise is going to have to found on this issue.

Israeli sources are saying that Ariel Sharon may be prepared to be flexible, that certainly what he is prepared to talk about is ways in which this wall, this fence, can be constructed that has minimum effect on daily Palestinian life.

It's just one of the many issues that is going to come up in what is likely to be an intense and very, very important conversation -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Mike Hanna 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.