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As Cease-Fire Talks Intensify, Israel/Gaza Fight Threatens to Spread; Congress Divided on Immigrants as Obama Meets Central American Presidents; FAA Lifts Flight Ban to Israel; Author's Book Inspired my Jewish/Arab Heritage

Aired July 25, 2014 - 11:30   ET

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

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: We're told the U.S. and Egyptians are moving close to a cease-fire agreement with Israel and Hamas. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are both expected to make an announcement this afternoon from Cairo. Their plan calls for a one-week humanitarian cease-fire that would start Sunday. This pause in violence would allow negotiations on a more permanent Israeli/Hamas cease-fire.

Officials in Gaza, meanwhile, say more than 800 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians, including children. On the Israeli side, 33 soldiers, three civilians have been killed.

Neither side is accepting blame for the horrific attack on a packed U.N. shelter in Gaza, a U.N. school that was serving as a shelter, where 16 people were killed, more than 200 wounded. Palestinian officials condemned the strike, calling it Israeli brutal aggression. But Israel, for its part, said they think it was a rocket fired from Gaza that was aimed at Israel and fell short. Anger over the attack prompted thousands of Palestinians to protest overnight in West Bank. Violence erupting there. Israeli troops shot and killed two Palestinian men, wounding scores of others. Israel, for their part, says 13 of their officers were injured.

As these cease-fire talks intensify, fighting threatens to spread in the Middle East. What are the chances for a solution, either short term or long term?

We want to bring in our military analysts, retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Good to see you, General.

Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona.

Always a pleasure, Colonel.

Glad to have you both.

I'll start with you, General.

From the limited information that we're getting now, our Elise Labott talking about talk of a humanitarian cease-fire being in the works, working with Qatar and Turkey to convince Hamas to sign on to this one-week cease-fire, to get medical supplies into Gaza and get the dead and injured out. How hopeful are you that this could be a longer-term process?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Michaela, I'll tell you, from a sold soldier's perspective, first of all, Kerry has been working tirelessly to get this done. The challenge is both sides are coming to the table, the Israeli side that has offered cease-fires in the past is about halfway through with their operation and they know they have to continue to secure the area so there's no more attacks on Israel. As we heard from the Israeli spokesperson last night, they are about 50 percent done. There are still about 5,000 rockets and a whole lot more tunnels.

On the other side, on the Hamas side, they have been offered this in the past, and yet they continue -- and they have the most to gain from this -- yet they continue to fire missiles. Just the fact that we're getting both sides to the table, that there might be some humanitarian operations here and we can stop the violence for a while and maybe get some talking, that's always good from a soldier's perspective that peace breaks out.

PEREIRA: Colonel Francona, I know you've had a chance to look at this as well. We've talk last time around a cease-fire brokered by Egypt was on the table and Hamas felt they weren't involved. They called it a one-sided agreement. They didn't feel enough was being done. Is there a concern that they are going to feel the same way this time?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think so, and I think the general brings a good point. It's always good if people are going to stop shooting and start talking. And I think the secretary-general and Secretary Kerry have structured this in a good way. Let's just stop shooting and talk about where we're going, rather than putting these preconditions. If Hamas tells Israelis, we'll agree to a cease- fire, if you open up the West Bank, and the Israelis say, but you have to disarm Hamas, those are nonstarters. Let's give everyone a humanitarian break. Then you've got a chance to make some headway. But as long --

(CROSSTALK)

FRANCONA: -- are killing each other, you can't talk.

PEREIRA: Yeah, absolutely.

Let's talk from the soldiers' perspective again, General. I think those of us sitting at home and away from us, that don't have the military expertise or intelligence-gathering capability and insight that the two of you have, will say, gosh, do they have to keep putting innocent lives at risk? You talk about the operation on the Israeli side not being completed yet, and there will be people who will say that means we'll see another U.N. school/shelter in the line of fire?

HERTLING: Well, you certainly are going to continue to see that because, from what we've seen of Hamas's approach, is they have not only done that, but they have asked Palestinians to put themselves in harm's way to, as they use the term, "telegenetically," show the damage that's being done in Gaza. Michaela, we have to be very concerned, even though the American people are very concerned about the number of casualties and they see a disproportionate number of casualties on one side versus the other, unequal does not immoral. I think if Hamas were given the opportunity, they would certainly kill more Israelis. And they've said they want to do that, Israeli citizens, not soldiers. Having been under fire in that region on a normal Tuesday, just a visit, having seen some of the tunnels that Hamas is digging under Gaza, they are doing these things for criminal and terrorist actions. And I think that Israel is right to try and safeguard their country but, at the same time, there certainly are unequal casualties, and that affects Americans, as it does all over the world. People thinking that unequal might not be the right approach.

PEREIRA: Quick final thought, Rick.

FRANCONA: And as long as they are fighting in Gaza, we're going to see that continue, because we're fighting on Palestinian turf. They are going to take the most casualties. It's densely populated and they're not taking the protective measures they need to to protect their people. AS he general said, this is going to continue.

PEREIRA: This is going to continue.

A big thank you to retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling and Rick Francona. Gentlemen, always a delight. Thanks so much. Even though it's the heaviest topic of all, we appreciate your insight.

Ahead @THISHOUR, we know President Obama is going to meet with leaders of from three Central American countries, countries whose children are flocking by the thousands to our border, to discuss how to stem the flow of immigrant children. Is there a solution?

Then, the FAA could reissue the Tel Aviv flight ban if conditions on the ground haven't improved. Why was it lifted in the first place? We'll take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: This afternoon, President Obama will meet with the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. He will discuss with them what can be done to stem the flow of migrant children from their nations into the U.S. But within the U.S., we certainly know Republicans and Democrats remain kind of divided on the immigration issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This is a problem of the president's own making. And then he tries to -- says he wants to solve the problem so that we can stop this influx, but then he changes his mind. We have got a president that's AWOL.

NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: We are committed to addressing their humanitarian needs. We are committed to due process for them. In order for that to happen, we must pass the president's request.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Why don't we bring in a couple of Democrats, maybe a Democrat and a Republican to talk this through?

Ladies, a little girl power here today as we discuss immigration. Good to have you on this Friday.

We have our political contributors, Maria Cardona and Republican Strategist Alice Stewart.

OK, Maria, not long ago, we were discuss the fact that the president was getting lambasted for not visiting the border. The White House said it's a photo op, not action. Will this meeting, the sitting down with these three leaders of these nations, whose children are flocking to our nation, is this going to be substantive in helping to fix the situation?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it certainly will be substantive, Michaela. They are going to be sitting down and try to figure out what they can continue to do to stem the flow. And look, in the last three weeks to a month, that flow has been reduced by more than 50 percent. So clearly the focus of this president on solutions and making sure that there are more immigration judges down there, making sure there are more attorneys down there look ago the these cases, doing what he can within the framework of the law has work. Unfortunately, what he needs to continue to fix this is the help of Republicans, and what needs for them to do is to give him the ability with more resources to continue what he has been doing up until now. What we've seen right now -- and it's interesting that Boehner talked about the president being AWOL. Boehner and the Republicans have the definition of AWOL when it comes to anything to do with immigration. They could have helped passed the immigration legislation that has been languishing for two years. That could have mitigated the situation.

PEREIRA: Alice, Republicans, are they going to get behind efforts that the president is looking to move toward get a solution to this?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I've spoke with several of them who are in the meetings this morning and they have been behind the plan from the very beginning that would have solved this problem before it ever began, which is border security. They have said that from the very beginning. We know, based on "The Washington Post" report, that the administration knew of this grand influx of illegal immigrants a year ago, and now all of a sudden it's a crisis, a humanitarian crisis. And meeting with these leaders today and offering the possibility of offering refugee status to some of these is a major flip-flop on his immigration policy, and that just goes to show yet again that he's using this as political football instead of really trying to find meaningful solutions and addressing the immigration problem. And that's the concern. But Republicans have vowed they are going to have a solution, have a proposal on the table before they go to recess. PEREIRA: But, Alice -- and I'll go back to you, Maria -- there

railroad going to be meeting who say look why not look at refugee status. Let's take the politics aside from this. We have a humanitarian crisis at our border. Some of these people are very much fleeing violence in their home nations. Would that not define them as a refugee? A refugee is someone who is forced to flee his or her country. An immigrant is someone who chooses to resettle in another country.

STEWART: I do think it's important to put a little bit of the onus on these other countries to determine, let them make the decision, the classification of these people. But the key factor here, if the president really wanted to do something, he would have done it a long time ago. He never met an executive power that he didn't like. He would have done so when this crisis first started erupting on the border, yet he hasn't done so. So here we are at a stalemate again and they are trying to put the blame on Republicans. Goes to show it's more about political maneuvering than taking the Republican solution and securing the boarder and making sure that is actually a priority.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Maria, a final thought. I want to ask you because, look, we have very short time away from the Congress take their August recess. If they don't act, how dire is that? And they come back in September. And oh, what, the midterm elections in November? A short time here.

CARDONA: It's hugely dire, Michaela. And I hope Alice is right that Republicans do something before they leave. But it was Speaker Boehner who actually said he doesn't think something will get done. So it will be shameful if Congress doesn't do anything before they leave. It will be additional proof that this Republican Congress is unable and unwilling to do anything on behalf of the American people except focusing on a frivolous lawsuit.

(CROSSTALK)

CARDONA: And this Republican talking point about security the border is just -- first of all, it's untrue, and it's just tired. The border is more security today than it ever has been.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Alice Stewart, I've got to end it there.

Ladies, as much as I would like to talk to you all through the day Friday, I want to say thank you for joining me.

CARDONA: Thanks, Michaela.

STEWART: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Ahead @THISHOUR, the FAA and their Tel Aviv flight ban that was lifted. It can go back into place. The question is, why was it lifted in the first place? We'll discuss. But first, African lions are teetering on the brink of extinction.

This week's "CNN Hero," Leela Hazzah, is transforming lion killers into lion guardians.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEELA HAZZAH, CNN HERO: 60 year ago, there were probably half a million lions in Africa. Today there's less than 30,000 lions in all of Africa. If we don't do something soon, there may be no lions left maybe in 10 or 15 years. Who knows?

I spent a year living in the Maasai community to understand why people were killing lions. It brings a huge amount of prestige to the warrior, and they were killing lions in retaliation for livestock that were killed.

They started opening up and telling their stories. That's when it clicked. If we want to conserve wildlife, we have to integrate communities.

Our organization is Lion Guardians, and it converts lion killers into lion guardians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

HAZZAH: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

When we first hire lion guardians, they don't know how to read or write and we provide that literacy and technical training.

They track lions so they can keep very accurate ecological data on lion movement.

The Lion Guardian model is founded on multicultural values and it is just being tweaked a bit to the 21st century.

We never really even imagined that we could transform these lion killers to the point where they would risk their own lives to keep other people from killing lions.

When I first moved here, I never heard lions roaring. But now, I hear lions roaring all the time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: @THISHOUR, U.S. flights once again have the green light to land at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. Earlier, you'll recall they ordered the planes from the U.S. to stop flying into and out of the city after a Hamas rocket hit a building near the airport.

Our Pamela Brown says the FAA is now keeping a close eye on the situation and could start banning Tel Aviv flights again at any time.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, officials are keeping a very close eye on the situation in Tel Aviv. We have learned the first flight from the U.S. have landed in Tel Aviv since that ban was lifted. Two U.S. officials tell CNN the threat is the same there as it was before the FAA freeze but the big change that has happened since the ban was lifted 36 hours after it was put in place, according to these officials, is that Israel has shared more information about airport defenses. The sources say, since Tuesday, there have been discussions amongst the FAA, the intelligence community and other U.S. government agencies with Israel. And part of what came out of that was Israel's willingness to adjust certain protocols and procedures to convince U.S. officials it would be safe for planes flying into and out of the Ben Gurion Airport. But it is up to the airlines. And all three U.S. airlines that fly to Israel announced they will resume flights. Most of the background amidst all of these accusations of the ban was more politics than safety. The U.S. president was accused of using the ban to force our ally to comply with foreign policy demands. And former New York Mayor Bloomberg flying to Israel to protest that ban. U.S. officials say, Michael, they're keeping a close eye on the situation there and they will put that ban back into place if need be -- Michaela?

PEREIRA: All right, Pamela Brown.

Obviously, if you have a flight overseas to that part of the world, keep an eye on CNN.

Coming up, imagine this, her mother is Jewish, her father, Palestinian. She is still learning how to live in peace with both sides of her heritage. We're going to talk directly with her coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Want to leave you with this today as pleas for peace in the Middle East grow louder. My next guest has a unique view. Claire Hajaj has a Jewish mother and a Palestinian father. She wrote a book inspired by her parents in what she calls their brave attempt to rewrite tribal hatred. The book is called "Ishmael's Oranges."

I'm glad you could join us today.

I'm sorry we have such a little bit of time. I have so many questions for you.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Instead of celebrating the release of this exciting work that you're about to offer to the world, you find yourself with a very heavy heart as you watch the violence in Gaza.

CLAIRE HAJAJ, AUTHOR: Yeah. I thought for years I thought that I would be celebrating this week. As it turns out, grief is too small a word really for the suffering that's happening there now, for the tragedy that's unfolding. It's been a terrible, terrible week to put out a work that was supposed to be celebrating two heritages and their similarities.

You wrote a really moving piece in "Newsweek." You write, "Israel's prime minister's brutal attack on families with nowhere to hide will not weaken Hamas in the long run, and Hamas will never bring Israel to its knees or shame its allies with rockets."

Claire, where do we go from here? Is the whole thing futile?

HAJAJ: Well, conflicts do eventually all end. The question we have to ask, is how many children and how many people do we want to see killed? How many hatreds do we want to inculcate before we stop it? You can stop it. It's a choice that both sides need to make, frankly. And I think that most people really want it to be made. 90 percent of the people who are living in Gaza and the West Bank and around the world do not want to see this happening.

PEREIRA: You say that your parents ultimately were not able to stay married, yet I know that you are now a mother of a child who also shares Jewish and Palestinian blood. Tell me about that, and how you raise your daughter to see the world.

HAJAJ: Well, I'd like to raise her to know the beauty of both cultures. It's very hard to do that when they seem intent on tearing each other apart. I look at my daughter and I wonder how many children now are being taught that it is inevitable that Jews and Palestinians must hate each other, that they must be enemies. And the politicians who are leading them are giving them every reason to believe that must be so. And they're suffering. And the fear that they're living under is giving them every reason to feel that might be so, particularly, I have to say, on the Palestinian side where conditions are dire in Gaza.

So I see my child in this. And this is part of the reason I wanted to write the book, to humanize both sides, so they could see each other, reading it, I hope, as I see them.

PEREIRA: Claire Hajaj has written a book, it is called "Ishmael's Oranges." If you want to understand the challenge of being a little bit of both worlds that are in such conflict, pick up a copy of that book.

Claire, I hope I can speak with you again some time. This was really a delight.

HAJAJ: Me, too, Michaela. Thank you for this chance.

PEREIRA: Stay well and we'll all stay hopeful.

That's it for us @THISHOUR. I'm Michaela Pereira. Thanks for keeping me company.

"LEGAL VIEW" with Anderson Cooper starts right now.