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CNN Live At Daybreak

Yasser Arafat Installs Emergency Government

Aired October 06, 2003 - 06:04   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Tensions are escalating even more in the volatile Middle East. Syria has taken its complaint to the United Nations in hopes of getting a resolution condemning Israel. That's in response to an Israeli airstrike on a site in Syria, which Israel says was a training camp for Palestinian militants.
The Israeli assault came after a female suicide bomber killed 19 people and wounded 50 others at a restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is trying to save his own political neck in the aftermath of the attack.

Our Chris Burns is joining us live now from Jerusalem with the very latest.

Chris – good morning to you.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.

Well, Yasser Arafat having named last night an emergency cabinet of eight people, plus Ahmed Qorei, the prime minister-designate, to try to enforce a state of emergency that he also declared last night in the Palestinian territories. That being widely seen as a reaction to the Israeli -- very strong Israeli reaction. They did go ahead and, yes, strike inside Syria, saying that that was a strike aimed at the Palestinian militant training camp.

The Israelis, however, are seen as also as having avoided trying to exile or force into exile Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in reaction to that Haifa suicide bombing that killed 19 people and injured more than 50 on Saturday.

And now, the question is: What is the next step? Now, Arafat has instituted this emergency cabinet, and his prime minister, Ahmed Qorei, says that they do intend to crack down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMED QOREI, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRIME MINISTER-ELECT: We decided that the situation is not to be tolerated. It's impossible, and therefore, a serious and very major step being taken, and that I vote that in the very near future the day that something will happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: And that is what the U.S.-led road map for peace is pushing for: that the Palestinian Authority does crack down on the militants. Will they actually indeed do that? There is division within the Palestinian Authority as to whether they should do that. Some saying that that could cause civil war. Others saying this really has to be done now, because if they don't, the Israelis could actually go ahead and perhaps force into exile Yasser Arafat, could continue to attack the militants.

The Palestinians are also arguing that the Israelis should let up a little bit, so that their police forces could crack down on the militants. That is really the key at this point, what we will see in the coming days at this moment. It is still Yom Kippur, the holiest day for Israeli Jews here, the day of atonement. That goes on until sunset tonight. We will see what further Israeli reaction does come.

From the militants themselves, Hamas, a militant group, says that they fired 16 mortars at Israeli or Jewish settlements inside the Gaza Strip; that being obviously a laying down of the gauntlet once again, a defiance to both the Israelis and to the Palestinian Authority that they intend to continue with their fight against Israeli occupation. That does not bode well for the Palestinian Authority. We'll have to see how they do react in the coming days -- Heidi.

COLLINS: And, Chris, I just wondering, we were speaking with Rula Amin a little bit earlier, learning that there is a little bit of dissention on whether or not this training camp was Islamic Jihad or civilian. What's your take on whether or not that will have any impact once that is resolved and we learn what sort of facility this was that was bombed?

BURNS: Well, that is a good question, what that would mean to the perception on the Palestinian side as far as how the Israelis are reacting. The Israeli population, at least according to the Israeli government, they believe that there is a great deal of pressure on them to take some kind of action. And whether it was a training camp or not, the Israelis, the government at least, believes that this was the action they had to take as a gesture, as a gesture against the Palestinian militants. And they do -- they came out with a videotape that they say came from Iranian television showing that to be a training camp, at least in the past -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, we did see that. All right, very good. Chris Burns, thanks so much, 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 October 6, 2003 - 06:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Tensions are escalating even more in the volatile Middle East. Syria has taken its complaint to the United Nations in hopes of getting a resolution condemning Israel. That's in response to an Israeli airstrike on a site in Syria, which Israel says was a training camp for Palestinian militants.
The Israeli assault came after a female suicide bomber killed 19 people and wounded 50 others at a restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is trying to save his own political neck in the aftermath of the attack.

Our Chris Burns is joining us live now from Jerusalem with the very latest.

Chris – good morning to you.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.

Well, Yasser Arafat having named last night an emergency cabinet of eight people, plus Ahmed Qorei, the prime minister-designate, to try to enforce a state of emergency that he also declared last night in the Palestinian territories. That being widely seen as a reaction to the Israeli -- very strong Israeli reaction. They did go ahead and, yes, strike inside Syria, saying that that was a strike aimed at the Palestinian militant training camp.

The Israelis, however, are seen as also as having avoided trying to exile or force into exile Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in reaction to that Haifa suicide bombing that killed 19 people and injured more than 50 on Saturday.

And now, the question is: What is the next step? Now, Arafat has instituted this emergency cabinet, and his prime minister, Ahmed Qorei, says that they do intend to crack down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMED QOREI, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRIME MINISTER-ELECT: We decided that the situation is not to be tolerated. It's impossible, and therefore, a serious and very major step being taken, and that I vote that in the very near future the day that something will happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: And that is what the U.S.-led road map for peace is pushing for: that the Palestinian Authority does crack down on the militants. Will they actually indeed do that? There is division within the Palestinian Authority as to whether they should do that. Some saying that that could cause civil war. Others saying this really has to be done now, because if they don't, the Israelis could actually go ahead and perhaps force into exile Yasser Arafat, could continue to attack the militants.

The Palestinians are also arguing that the Israelis should let up a little bit, so that their police forces could crack down on the militants. That is really the key at this point, what we will see in the coming days at this moment. It is still Yom Kippur, the holiest day for Israeli Jews here, the day of atonement. That goes on until sunset tonight. We will see what further Israeli reaction does come.

From the militants themselves, Hamas, a militant group, says that they fired 16 mortars at Israeli or Jewish settlements inside the Gaza Strip; that being obviously a laying down of the gauntlet once again, a defiance to both the Israelis and to the Palestinian Authority that they intend to continue with their fight against Israeli occupation. That does not bode well for the Palestinian Authority. We'll have to see how they do react in the coming days -- Heidi.

COLLINS: And, Chris, I just wondering, we were speaking with Rula Amin a little bit earlier, learning that there is a little bit of dissention on whether or not this training camp was Islamic Jihad or civilian. What's your take on whether or not that will have any impact once that is resolved and we learn what sort of facility this was that was bombed?

BURNS: Well, that is a good question, what that would mean to the perception on the Palestinian side as far as how the Israelis are reacting. The Israeli population, at least according to the Israeli government, they believe that there is a great deal of pressure on them to take some kind of action. And whether it was a training camp or not, the Israelis, the government at least, believes that this was the action they had to take as a gesture, as a gesture against the Palestinian militants. And they do -- they came out with a videotape that they say came from Iranian television showing that to be a training camp, at least in the past -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, we did see that. All right, very good. Chris Burns, thanks so much, 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.