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CNN Live At Daybreak
Palestinian Politics
Aired November 12, 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: Mideast peace, is there such a thing? Well, this morning, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said Israel is building a new version of the Berlin Wall. He said this as his parliament votes on a new cabinet, and the Palestinian prime minister is calling for an immediate cease-fire now with Israel.
Let's head live to Ramallah to sort this all out and Sheila MacVicar.
Good morning -- Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
I'm standing in what's called the Mukaba (ph). That is President Yasser Arafat's compound. And behind me you can probably see a lot of people milling around. The first session of the morning has just ended. We've heard speeches from the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, and from the prime minister-designate, Ahmed Qorei.
Now, this is a government that has been some weeks in the making. It comes about as the result of some considerable political wrangling between those two men. And the result of it, of course, has been that it is Yasser Arafat who has emerged the winner. That comes about after a year where the Israeli government has tried to declare him irrelevant and to push him aside. Well, Mr. Arafat this morning finds himself very firmly back in the center of things and very firmly in control of the security apparatus.
Now, in the speech that we heard from Mr. Arafat, not only did he talk about what he called the new Berlin Wall that Israel is building -- that is the separation fence that Israel is building -- he also talked about recognizing the right of Israel to exist, and recognizing the right of the Israeli people to live in security alongside the Palestinian people in their own Palestinian state.
Now, those are words we have heard from Yasser Arafat before. Frankly, we haven't heard them all that much in recent months, but it's important that he said them here again today.
Also, Mr. Arafat, speaking directly to Israel's people, saying it is time to end this destructive spiral, to end this war that is not bringing security to either you or to us.
What will happen later on today, there will be a debate about the composition of Ahmed Qorei's new government. There is supposed to be a vote, and if all goes well, there will be a swearing-in ceremony a little later on -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, you just said that about Yasser Arafat. Will Israel cooperate at all with this supposedly new cabinet in light of Yasser Arafat's continuing grip on power?
MACVICAR: Well, given that it was precisely the question of security and who controls security which led to the Israeli refusal to basically have anything to do with the old -- the last Palestinian government, the government of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, well Israel is taking a different tactic now.
And Israel is saying basically that what it wants to do is it doesn't matter who controls terror -- rather, it doesn't matter who controls the security forces, what they want them to do is to control and stop the terrorism. And to that end, they say, well, since Yasser Arafat is Yasser Arafat, Israel also saying that they will be talking to Ahmed Qorei, and that they plan to have meetings with the Israeli prime minister and the Palestinian prime minister as soon as both are ready to do so.
We can go back and take a look at what Mr. Arafat said a little earlier this morning, the kinds of things, his difficulties as he described, talking about the Palestinian people's difficulties, and talking then directly to Israel about the need for dialog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASSER ARAFAT, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): The time has come that between us and you, you Israelis -- you hear me now, you Israelis, the time has come for us to get out of the spiral of this destructive war that will not afford security to you, neither to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACVICAR: That was Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, as he was speaking directly to Israel's people, saying it is time to end the violence -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Sheila MacVicar 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 November 12, 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: Mideast peace, is there such a thing? Well, this morning, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said Israel is building a new version of the Berlin Wall. He said this as his parliament votes on a new cabinet, and the Palestinian prime minister is calling for an immediate cease-fire now with Israel.
Let's head live to Ramallah to sort this all out and Sheila MacVicar.
Good morning -- Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
I'm standing in what's called the Mukaba (ph). That is President Yasser Arafat's compound. And behind me you can probably see a lot of people milling around. The first session of the morning has just ended. We've heard speeches from the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, and from the prime minister-designate, Ahmed Qorei.
Now, this is a government that has been some weeks in the making. It comes about as the result of some considerable political wrangling between those two men. And the result of it, of course, has been that it is Yasser Arafat who has emerged the winner. That comes about after a year where the Israeli government has tried to declare him irrelevant and to push him aside. Well, Mr. Arafat this morning finds himself very firmly back in the center of things and very firmly in control of the security apparatus.
Now, in the speech that we heard from Mr. Arafat, not only did he talk about what he called the new Berlin Wall that Israel is building -- that is the separation fence that Israel is building -- he also talked about recognizing the right of Israel to exist, and recognizing the right of the Israeli people to live in security alongside the Palestinian people in their own Palestinian state.
Now, those are words we have heard from Yasser Arafat before. Frankly, we haven't heard them all that much in recent months, but it's important that he said them here again today.
Also, Mr. Arafat, speaking directly to Israel's people, saying it is time to end this destructive spiral, to end this war that is not bringing security to either you or to us.
What will happen later on today, there will be a debate about the composition of Ahmed Qorei's new government. There is supposed to be a vote, and if all goes well, there will be a swearing-in ceremony a little later on -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, you just said that about Yasser Arafat. Will Israel cooperate at all with this supposedly new cabinet in light of Yasser Arafat's continuing grip on power?
MACVICAR: Well, given that it was precisely the question of security and who controls security which led to the Israeli refusal to basically have anything to do with the old -- the last Palestinian government, the government of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, well Israel is taking a different tactic now.
And Israel is saying basically that what it wants to do is it doesn't matter who controls terror -- rather, it doesn't matter who controls the security forces, what they want them to do is to control and stop the terrorism. And to that end, they say, well, since Yasser Arafat is Yasser Arafat, Israel also saying that they will be talking to Ahmed Qorei, and that they plan to have meetings with the Israeli prime minister and the Palestinian prime minister as soon as both are ready to do so.
We can go back and take a look at what Mr. Arafat said a little earlier this morning, the kinds of things, his difficulties as he described, talking about the Palestinian people's difficulties, and talking then directly to Israel about the need for dialog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASSER ARAFAT, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): The time has come that between us and you, you Israelis -- you hear me now, you Israelis, the time has come for us to get out of the spiral of this destructive war that will not afford security to you, neither to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACVICAR: That was Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, as he was speaking directly to Israel's people, saying it is time to end the violence -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Sheila MacVicar 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.
