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CNN Live At Daybreak

Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinians Call for Day of Rage

Aired August 13, 2001 - 07:29   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.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: In the Middle East, the Palestinians are calling for a day of rage today. It follows two suicide bombings, and a new kind of retaliation by Israel. It has taken over Orient House, a cultural and political center for Palestinians -- a symbol really for Palestinians of them wanting their own state.

Jon Alterman of the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington joins us now with more on this.

Mr. Alderman, this morning really the situation in Israel still effectively has control over Orient House. International reaction to this has been quite critical, calling it a real political escalation.

So, I mean, where can this possibly go from here?

JON ALTERMAN, U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE: Well, I expect that what's going to happen narrowly on Orient House is that Israel will attempt to use the courts to slowly back out to give control of Orient House back to the Husseini family, which owns Orient House.

Orient House became a center for Palestinian activity when Faisal Husseini was a member of the Palestinian authority government and also was using his ancestral home as a sort of center. He died in May. I think Orient House was really waning for several months. And I would expect that Israel will return it back to the family with the agreement that Orient House not be a political center anymore.

MCEDWARDS: You know, these last two suicide bombings -- one in a cafe, one in a restaurant, there was one several weeks ago at a nightclub -- what's this doing to people there? I mean, it's got to be kind of numbing at some point, doesn't it?

ALTERMAN: Well, certainly what I think we have seen with the continuation of suicide bombings and with the death in Jerusalem on Thursday of 15 deaths, it has created a numbing effect. The Dolphinarium bombing on June 1 had sort of prompted everybody to pull back and say, we're at the edge of an abyss and we have to really think about where we are going.

I think as the bombings continue, as each side becomes more and more entrenched, we are seeing that the bombings aren't even moving any sort of political process. They are not moving people to re- evaluate what they are thinking. It's just making each side think that the other side doesn't really want peace.

MCEDWARDS: You know, the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres, has been given approval to meet with Palestinian officials, not with Chairman Arafat, we understand, but with other officials. We don't know many more details than that at this point. But what could come out of a meeting like that?

ALTERMAN: Well, he has been given the green light to meet with Palestinian officials to narrowly negotiate a cease-fire and work on security issues, and he'll have a sort of defense ministry babysitter to make sure that he doesn't veer off of any completely defense- oriented topics.

I am not really sure where that goes. I am not sure how much freedom he is going to have to negotiate with the Palestinians. The core problem is that the vast bulk of Israelis think that there is no limit to Palestinian ambitions. The vast bulk of Palestinians think there is really no limit to Israeli ambitions. And because each side perceives the other trying to threaten their very existence, they are locked into conflict, and it's very, very hard for either side to pull back.

MCEDWARDS: There you have it, don't you? Jon Alterman, thank you very much for your thoughts this morning -- appreciate it.

ALTERMAN: Thank you, Colleen.

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