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CNN Live Saturday

Extraordinary Violence in Middle East

Aired March 09, 2002 - 22:01   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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: And it has been a night of extraordinary violence in the Mid East this evening. In fact, just hours ago, Israelis warplanes hammered away at Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Gaza, reducing that building to rubble. The airstrike followed a day of bloody terrorist activity, that was aimed at Israeli civilians.

The most devastating happening in central Jerusalem, just six hours ago. A Palestinian suicide bomber walked into a crowded cafe and set off a bomb; 11 people were killed, scores more injured, emergency crews are still on the scene there.

And earlier in the day, Palestinian gunmen opened fire inside a hotel lobby in the coastal city of Natagne, killing two, including a baby. Now the cycle of violence in the region continues to repeat itself and get progressively worse each time. Let's go to CNN's Michael Holmes, who's standing by in Jerusalem with the very latest.

Hello, again, Michael.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, again, Catherine. Yes, a day of carnage and destruction here, after a week of carnage and destruction. The most recent destruction we can tell you about, as you said, Yasser Arafat's Gaza headquarters completely destroyed by Israeli missiles. We're told, these are the latest figures now, from very senior Palestinian sources that 25 missiles were fired at that seaside building in the Gaza Strip.

Those sources tell us both Israeli helicopters and Israeli gunboats were involved in the assault, the helicopters firing missiles, at least 25 of them. T he boats, at the same time, we're told, pouring in machine gun fire.

This Gaza headquarters for Yasser Arafat was a two-story building right on the sea front. Witnesses said it was reduced to rubble. Palestinian sources tell us that the building was empty and no injuries have been reported. Mr. Arafat, himself, is of course in Ramallah, where Israeli security forces have kept him isolated for the past three months.

Now the assault in Gaza followed two attacks in Israelis. The first in Natagne. It's a coastal town, just north of Tel Aviv. And that attack involved two Palestinian gunmen, who opened fire on Israelis on the evening of the sabbath. The sabbath had just ended and Israelis, as is a habit here, had been out strolling along the seafront, meeting friends and eating dinner.

The two gunmen opened fire in a hotel lobby and on a promenade, a pedestrian walkway in front of the hotel. On this night, two Israelis were killed, including a nine-month old baby girl. 40 people wounded. Several of those seriously. Both the gunmen were pursued by Israeli police and shot.

Responsibility was quickly claimed by the al Atsah (ph) brigades. Now that's a militia group that is tightly aligned with Yasser Arafat's own Fatah movement.

Now two hours later, another attack, this time at a popular cafe right in downtown Jerusalem, central Jerusalem. A stone's throw, in fact, from the prime minister's own residence. A suicide bomber walked into the cafe Momen and detonated what police say was a large amount of explosives. Witnesses describing the explosion as simply massive.

Now the military wing of Hamas has claimed responsibility for that attack. They've even named the suicide bomber. As the day's events unfolded and the carnage continued, both sides said they wanted peace. And both sides blamed each other for the violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DORE GOLD, SPOKESMAN, ISRAELI PM: We cannot tolerate a situation where in the area under Yasser Arafat's jurisdiction, there is a vast infrastructure of international terrorism. That is a principle that Israel is putting forward, but it's also a principle of the international community today, after September 11.

You cannot harbor and give shelter to international terrorist organizations and expect a country to just absorb these blows.

SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) between us and the Israelis when (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or Taliban or -- that shows that we have no trust between each other. This way, a third party is really urgently needed. This way, we welcome, as Palestinians, the mission of General Zinni. And I believe we should give General Zinni every chance in order for him to succeed. We -- he has to succeed. This cycle must be broken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Catherine, as you heard there, yes, the U.S. special envoy Anthony Zinni expected in the region on Thursday. He's here to try to broker some sort of cease fire. It is a cease fire both sides say they want. Neither side seems inclined to begin -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: In the Israeli attack, you mentioned, as we've mentioned Yasser Arafat's Gaza headquarters being struck, but we should also mention to everyone that Yasser Arafat was not there.

HOLMES: That's right. He, as I said, has been Ramallah for -- at his headquarters there. In the West Bank for some three months now, the Israeli military security forces keeping him there and not allowing him to leave, putting conditions on him like the rest of what Israel describes as terrorist individuals and the shutting down of terrorist organizations. Also putting on him a condition to arrest all suspects involved in the October killing of the Israeli tourism minister.

And Mr. -- and the Palestinian Authority announcing today that a fourth, and they say final suspect in that killing, has been indeed been taken into custody by Palestinian security forces. Catherine?

CALLAWAY: CNN's Michael Holmes in Jerusalem. Thanks, Michael, for the very latest.

And the troubles in the Middle East have been brewing now for 18 months, but authorities say that these last 48 hours have been the bloodiest and the most brutal. With me now is Jim Steinberg. He is the former national security adviser to President Clinton.

Thank you for being with us on this Saturday night.

JIM STEINBERG, FMR. NATL. SECURITY ADVISER: Good evening, Catherine.

CALLAWAY: How does this look? First, your reaction to what has happened? Now we know the attack at the cafe was very close to Ariel Sharon's residence. We know that Yasser Arafat's headquarters have now been hit. What is your reaction to this latest round?

STEINBERG: Well, what you've seen is an incredibly dangerous escalation of the cycle of reaction and counterreaction, each side blaming the other for instigating the events, each side looking to the other to be the first to stop the actions. And neither side being able to take the first move. So it's a very dangerous situation that we're facing.

CALLAWAY: Zinni possibly heading there now. What could he possibly do at this stage?

STEINBERG: Well, I think there are three potentially positive elements here. In the background, we have the recent peace initiative by Saudi Arabia, which has now been backed by Egypt and Syria. You have the very positive statement by Prime Minister Sharon that he's prepared now not to insist on a seven day cooling off period before further steps of confidence building can begin. And you also have General Zinni now coming to the region.

These are potential elements that General Zinni can put together, to try to get both sides to take simultaneous actions, that can put at least some damper on this escalating cycle of violence.

CALLAWAY: What role, if any, will Vice President's Dick Cheney's tour that he's beginning this weekend of the Middle East. Will it have any effect on what's going on?

STEINBERG: I think it could potentially could have a positive effect. I think the people in the region are going to be looking to the vice president to see whether the United States understands their concerns about the violence, whether the United States is prepared to become more involved. I think the decision to announce General Zinni's visit before Vice President Cheney's trip by itself shows that the administration is very aware of the concerns in the region. And I think it's a way for the vice president to help try to put these pieces together, to talk to the Arab leaders to say, "We really do want to make an effort here, but you need to help us with Arafat, to convince him that he's got to do his part in reducing the terrorist threat on that side."

CALLAWAY: I have to think that the next 24 hours would have to be telling in this situation. And that we've Ariel Sharon say that we must cause losses. I believe those were his exact words, to make them understand, in talking about the Palestinian attacks, the terrorist attacks. So what now? What -- when the Israeli cabinet resumes, what will happen next?

STEINBERG: I think that -- it's going to be hard to move forward before General Zinni actually gets in and starts talking to the parties. I think Prime Minister Sharon will feel that he made a gesture by, in effect, changing the conditions that he had previously laid down for moving forward with the cease fire.

He's now basically said, "I'm not going to have this long period of delay. I'm prepared to move quickly to a cease fire." And now I think what's needed is for the United States, through General Zinni, to get involved basically to use his contacts in the security forces on both sides, to say, "Here's the practical steps we can take to stop this -- at least to get a cease fire in place."

CALLAWAY: But how much control would Yasser Arafat have on what happens in the Palestinian area?

STEINBERG: I don't think he has total control, but as we've also seen today, the Palestinians arrested an individual involved in the attack on the cabinet minister. That's something the Israelis have wanted for some time. And the fact that he's now -- only now taken the step, shows that he does have some cards to play himself. We can't expect perfect piece. And I think that's why Prime Minister Sharon's change of position is so important, because it will be impossible to get a total cessation of violence.

But I do think we'll recognize it if we see a renewed effort by Arafat in response to this new U.S. initiative.

CALLAWAY: How -- what type of commitment is the U.S., do you think, willing to make if this escalates into a full-fledged war?

STEINBERG: I think the challenge for the United States is to recognize that while we can't guarantee a success, that it's only through our engagement that the parties may have some confidence in the commitments that each other makes.

Right now, they have no confidence in each other at all.

CALLAWAY: Right. STEINBERG: But they do have some faith in the United States as an honest broker here.

CALLAWAY: Well, what type of role could the U.S. play in that situation?

STEINBERG: I think what is needed here is to get reciprocal commitments. On the Palestinian side, they need to make a real commitment about terrorism, but they will need, in return, some sense that if they take those steps, that a better environment will be created that will reinforce the positive steps that Arafat is taking. And that means some sign that political negotiations could resume.

For the Israelis, they need to know that if they hint that they will be prepared to move forward on negotiations, that there's going to be a meaningful effort against the terrorists by Arafat.

CALLAWAY: With these types of attacks going on, as we've seen in the last few hours, it's hard to imagine any peace talks taking place, but you seem optimistic they will?

STEINBERG: It's not so much optimism, but I think that what we're seeing is that both sides, we've seen gestures by both sides, both Prime Minister Sharon, and then with the arrest today by the Palestinians, that they're both looking into the abyss. And I think they're both fighting for themselves, that although they feel the need to respond to each other's moves, that they are -- their situation isn't improving by this strategy.

They want to break out of it. And it's by bringing in a third party that sometimes you can break this kind of reaction, counterreaction environment that we're in now.

CALLAWAY: All right, thank you very much, Jim Steinberg, former National Security Adviser. Thanks for being with us tonight sharing us your thoughts.

STEINBERG: Thank you.

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