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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Power Plant Hit; Hamas Rejects Truce; Kerry Calls for Ukrainian De-escalation; EU Expands Russian Sanctions; Shootout in West Village Kills Fugitive Featured on CNN

Aired July 29, 2014 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Starts right now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Jake Tapper. It's Tuesday, July 29th. Welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

A day of hellacious fighting in Gaza is about to give way to a night that could be just as bad and perhaps darker than most. Not only have Israel and the Palestinian militants of Hamas not agreed on a cease fire, Hamas, late today, rejected a truce proposed by other Palestinian leaders. Earlier, an artillery strike hit Gaza's only power plant, cutting electricity to homes, hospitals and water pumps in Gaza. A Hamas-run radio station and the Palestinian Ministry of Finance also came under Israeli attack.

So far, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict. The one that Israel calls "Operation Protective Edge." The U.N. says most of those are civilians. They also say that more than 180,000 Palestinians are packed into shelters. Fifty-six Israelis have been killed. Fifty-three of the 56 were soldiers. The numbers are grim, but the sounds can be downright terrifying. My CNN colleague Karl Penhaul was on the air this morning from Gaza City when a missile hit right behind him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You would have seen the same -- [ explosion ]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Karl joins me now live.

Karl, we've seen smoke from the power plant fire all morning. What is the latest on that? How extensive are these power outages caused as a result?

PENHAUL: Well, really, from what we understand, there is now no power being generated by that Gaza power company power plant after an Israeli tank shell hit the diesel fuel tanks that is storing the fuel that powers that power plant. That was the chief of the Gaza power company that gave us that. And all day, just south of where we are now, you can see the smoke billowing from that power plant. It is out of service and by all accounts it could be out of service for a year now. And so really what that means is now the people of Gaza have to survive with their own small generators. And that has added already to the fact that a lot of the water infrastructure has been hit and so it really is increasing the suffering on the civilian population.

And, of course, the civilian population is something that we have tried to put at the front and center of our coverage. And, once again, yesterday, an explosion in a residential neighborhood here in Gaza that ended up killing eight children and two adults on the first day of Eid, that's the end of Ramadan celebrations. There were a lot of people in the streets. Death spread all around. Let's take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL (voice-over): You'll never get to meet little Mohammad (ph), but his friend next door wants to tell you a bit about him. "Top of the class at math. Barcelona football star Lionel Messi was his hero. He'd always say Messi was an amazing player. He loved futbol. He worshiped Messi," she says. Orli (ph) is 12 years old. "Glass sprayed on me. It was so loud, so terrifying, I can't even describe it," she says.

Mohammad was just yards from his front door. Witnesses say he and the other kids were playing toy guns. They call it dum-dum (ph). The plastic pistol, now broken. The children, all dead. Anas (ph) reels off their names.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

PENHAUL: It's a sight he should never have seen.

"I saw a boy cut up right there. Over there, a man, he looked dead. And I saw a boy who was dead too," he says. Just eight years old, he mans up and describes the explosion.

A bloody hand mark in a doorway, a lucky escape for them but not for their grandfather. They say he died buying them holiday candy. "I saw grandpa. His head was cut. His arms and legs were cut. He was all cut up," they say. Witnesses young and old say they heard a drone and then the sound of a missile fired on to their street.

While we were there, we saw a militant rocket launched about a mile away. The warring factions blame each other. We've heard their excuses before. But there's no excuse for this, or this.

PENHAUL (on camera): Just look at the hole this shrapnel has blasted in this car door. Imagine the damage that that would do to a child's body.

PENHAUL (voice-over): As I sit on the pavement with Anas, the ambulance arrived with young Mohammad's body. "I want to go and see my cousin," he says. Sorry you may never have met Mohammed, but it's already time to say good-bye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: This is a dirty war. And here in Gaza, of course, it's shaping up to be dirtier than most wars. But quite simply (ph) we cannot let the casualties on either side of the divide die an anonymous death. We really do have to strive to put a name and a face to them, Jake.

TAPPER: Heartbreaking. Karl Penhaul in Gaza City, thank you so much.

Let's get some insights right now from Mouin Rabbani, he's a Palestinian journalist and analyst and senior fellow at the Institute for Palestinian Studies. He joins me from Italy.

Mr. Rabbani, good to see you.

I want to ask you about this reported attempt by Palestinian leaders in the West Bank to put forth a cease-fire proposal, only to have Hamas reject it before Israel could even respond. What is Hamas hoping to achieve? Is there any way to get them to agree to a cease-fire?

MOUIN RABBANI, SR. FELLOW, INSTITUTE FOR PALESTINE STUDIES: Well, I think Hamas has stated clearly that it supports a cease-fire. That it's not opposed to cease-fire in principle, but it has to be a credible arrangement. In other words, one that ensures that these type of barbaric attacks, as has been just so movingly presented, stop and not resumed whenever Israel decides it's time to start bombing Palestinians again. And second of all, that the immediate underlying cause of this conflict, which is the seven-year illegal blockade of the entire population of the Gaza Strip is addressed and lifted. My understanding is that the -- that Hamas and the other Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip are insisting on credible amendments to the proposal that was put forward by the Egyptians, and that until those amendments are presented, that they can't accept the cease-fire proposal in its current form.

TAPPER: The Israeli prime minister, Netanyahu, originally said that when Gaza is quiet, Israel will be quiet. Now, obviously, the ground war and other parts of the Israeli military campaign have changed that equation. Now they're going after tunnels. But that initial proposal, that initial premise, if you will, from Netanyahu, if Gaza is quiet, Israel will be quiet, does that seem unreasonable to you?

RABBANI: Well, I think as any American leader who has dealt with Netanyahu would tell you, he's particularly proficient at speaking out of both sides of his mouth and has, in fact, (INAUDIBLE) personified. This illegal assault on the entire Gaza Strip was a premeditated attack by the Israeli government. Netanyahu can't say, at one and the same time, that he wants a cease-fire, and is additionally further expanding the assault. It's either one or the other.

Now, my readings of the Israeli press suggest that the Israelis are dissatisfied with the passity (ph) of their military achievements in the Gaza Strip. True, they have engaged in a rather effective mass murder of something like 1,200 Palestinian civilians, but in term of hitting the military structure of Hamas and other movements in the Gaza Strip, they have virtually nothing to show for their efforts and they're therefore coming under a lot of political pressure from their core constituencies to expand this assault. TAPPER: Mr. Rabbani, I understand your position when it comes to Prime

Minister Netanyahu. Do you think that Hamas is leading the Palestinian people, leading the people of Gaza, in the right direction?

RABBANI: I don't think anyone is leading the Palestinians in the right direction. I think the more fundamental point here is that this is a premeditated and deliberate assault on the Gaza Strip, on the civilian population, on the civilian infrastructure, launched by the Israeli government. So I think the more fundamental point is to pose question marks about Israeli policy, about Israeli actions, about Israeli objectives. And first and foremost in my view, about the total impunity with which Israel is taking Palestinian life by the bucketful and chasing absolutely no accountability of any sort by the international -

TAPPER: I take your point - yes, I take your point, sir, and we will be -- Wolf Blitzer, later this hour, will be asking questions of the Israeli government and I'll be doing so later on my show at 4:00 p.m. Eastern as well. But specifically now, I'm talking about the Palestinian leadership, specifically Hamas. Just one example cited by the Israeli government is, why were these tunnels from Gaza to Israel -- not the survival tunnels from Egypt to Gaza, but the ones that Hamas built from Gaza to Israel, why were they built if not for what the Israeli government alleges, terror attacks?

RABBANI: Well, my understanding, which reflects the understanding of most military experts, including Israel's military experts, is that Hamas constructed these tunnels in anticipation of precisely the type of assaults on the Gaza Strip that we're seeing now. And in order to be able to attack Israeli military forces massed around the Gaza Strip from (INAUDIBLE).

And if you read the Israeli press, it seems that they've been rather effective in doing so.

Now, it's all well and good to talk about terrorism. Look at the figures. We have 1,200 Palestinian dead. According to the U.N. and other sources, the overwhelming majority of them civilians, including hundreds of children. And as I believe your correspondent just pointed out, something like 50 Israeli dead, 47 or more of whom are uniformed soldier. So it's a pertinent question, who is practicing terrorism here?

TAPPER: Thank you, Mouin Rabbani. I appreciate your time.

Coming up later this hour, we'll get the view from Israel with Israeli Government Spokesman Mark Regev, as I just said. We're live from Jerusalem here in about 20 minutes.

The other big conflict in the world, of course, the shootout of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. While investigators struggle to get to the crash site 12 days after the attack, new developments in the war between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists. An escalation in the fighting. More missiles being fired right now. That story coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Secretary of State John Kerry took to the podium today and condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine. He called upon Vladimir Putin and the pro-Russian rebels to scale back their fighting and he threatened Russia with large economic sanctions if it does not comply.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECCRETARY OF STATE: President Putin can make a huge difference here if he chooses to. And we, and our European partners, will take additional measures and impose wider sanctions on key sections of the Russian economy if that is what we must do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Shortly after Secretary Kerry finished speaking, an E.U. official confirmed to CNN that sanctions have been expanded against Russian individuals and Russian companies.

Kerry spoke on the heels of news today that Ukrainian forces have escalated the fighting by firing short-range ballistic missiles at the rebels. It's the first time a weapon of this magnitude has been utilized in this conflict.

We have CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr here. What kind of damage are these missiles capable of?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, these are missiles that go about 50 miles, and carry thousand-pound warhead, so you can only imagine the Ukrainians turning to this, by all accounts because so many of their aircraft have been shot out of the sky by the rebels, now going to this very significant escalation, using ground to ground, surface to surface, if you will, short-range ballistic missiles.

Nobody talking about this publicly. We broke the news here at CNN, three officials confirming to us that these launches happened over the last 48 hours, that U.S. intelligence spy satellites saw the launches, the infrared-heat signature of the missile launches and were able to track them to where they landed.

In the minds of the U.S., no doubt in their minds, they were fired from Ukrainian government positions against rebel positions along that southeastern border between Ukraine and Russia.

Now, I think the waiting game is to see if there will be any Russian response to the escalation.

Jake?

TAPPER: Barbara, I'm confused as to whether this escalation by the Ukrainian government comports with what the United States is trying to do in getting the pro-Russian separatists and Russia itself to stand down, to back away, from this assault on eastern Ukraine, or whether they see this as being contrary to their goals.

What is the U.S. government reaction?

STARR: I think the read is that it is contrary, but it's so sensitive, no one is likely to come out and criticize Ukraine's forces, one official telling us, look, they have a right to defend themselves.

For example, we've seen all that satellite imagery released in recent days about Russian maneuvering, where they're firing from, where their weapons are, where their weapons are heading inside Ukraine.

Don't expect to see that same kind of satellite imagery this time. As one additional official said, these are the good guys, the Ukrainian forces. These are the ones the U.S. support. Behind the scenes, the U.S. absolutely pressing for de-escalation for everybody to step back and to ratchet back.

Think about it this way. These missiles landed just about 15 miles from where the wreckage of MH-17 lies in those fields in Ukraine. This is the area the U.S. wants to see come to some sort of standing peace, if you will, long enough to at least get inspectors and national personnel in there, get the wreckage, get the remains of the last bodies that may still be lying there.

And right now, it is not headed in the right direction.

Jake?

TAPPER: All right, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you so much.

Let's find out some more about these expanded sanction, that the European Union is putting into place against Russia. Our Nic Robertson joins us now live from Moscow.

Nic, the sanctions, I'm told, target individuals and companies. What more do we know? Any more specifics?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is going to target the arms industry. It's going to hurt. It's going to impact their ability to export, their ability to import, their ability to import dual-use materials, materials that might be useful in both the military and civilian sector, sensitive technologies will be included in that.

The energy sector will also be targeted. Again, that is a very sensitive thing for Russia. It needs to import equipment if it's able -- if it wants, as it does, to develop new oil and gas fields, so that is certainly designed to impact on a much broader way.

We understand that there will be eight people, cronies of Putin is how they're described, they will be named on Wednesday by the European union, they will also be impacted by sanctions.

But I think what we're seeing emerge here is the most sensitive area for Russia. President Putin gave hint to that when he met with the government yesterday, anticipating these sanctions, called on the government to accelerate their efforts to make sure the country can import and bring in all it needs to sustain its defense sector in terms of raw materials and components, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, thank you, Nic Robertson.

A family is breathing a little easier today after a man accused of molesting their son is taken down.

What happened after his story showed up on CNN's show "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH" coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: New details just in about that deadly shootout in New York where a suspected child molester on the run for two years was killed yesterday after police closed in.

A source says a tip was called in on Charles Mozdir who lived in Florida. Cops were given his cell phone number. Mozdir was wanted in California, accused of molesting his best friend's son.

Just more than a week ago, just over a week ago, the fugitive was profiled on CNN's new show, "THE HUNT" with John Walsh.

Deborah Feyerick has more now on how police cracked this cold case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The search for suspected child molester and fugitive Charles Mozdir ends here, the shootout at this smoke shop in a minute answer's busy West Village.

BILL BRATTON, NYPD COMMISSIONER: Mozdir fired upon the officers at very close range and the officers returned fire.

FEYERICK: Members of the U.S. marshal's New York/New Jersey Regional Task Force tracked Mozdir to New York following a tip that came into CNN's "THE HUNT" with John Walsh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son sat me down, and he said, mom, I have something to tell you. And he proceeded to tell me that Charlie had touched him inappropriately.

FEYERICK: Mozdir had recently been profiled on the show.

One of the officers went inside and identified Mozdir. He was alone, police say, inside that smoke shop, and you can see it. It's the white doorway just past the stop sign.

When members of the task force entered, that's when the shooting began.

BRATTON: During the exchanges of gunfire, the detectives and two marshals were injured.

FEYERICK: Police say Mozdir had grown a beard and had no intention of being taken quietly.

BRATTON: A .32 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene, and 20 rounds of additional ammunition were found in Mozdir's pockets.

FEYERICK: Alexis Green lives down the street from the smoke shop and took these photos after the shooting.

ALEXIS GREEN, WEST VILLAGE RESIDENT: What I noticed a rather large crowd and then some heavily armed police officers with helmets on, detectives, ambulance workers.

FEYERICK: One U.S. marshal shot in the leg and another injured in the arm, the NYPD detective assigned to the task force shot in the abdomen, none of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

BRATTON: Effectively you can see where the round entered, the round was recovered in the vest.

FEYERICK: Mozdir was last seen two years ago in San Diego offer being accused of molesting a friend's 7-year-old son. At the time police searched his home and found a cell phone with images of child pornography and bestiality. His abandoned car was found soon after in Georgia, his license plate removed and Mozdir seemingly disappeared.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: And later this hour, we'll bring you an interview with the reaction from John Walsh himself, the child safety advocate and host of CNN's "THE HUNT."

A major focus in Israel's military campaign in Gaza, a huge network of tunnels where the Israeli government says supplies and weapons seem to have been on the move.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer went underground to explore what is happening below.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)