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CNN Live At Daybreak

Israel Rejects Cease-fire Offer; Israeli Settler Wounded by Gunfire

Aired December 10, 2001 - 06:15   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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In Israel today, there is a cease-fire offer and threats of more Israeli attacks on Palestinians -- all of this against a backdrop of suicide bombings and U.S. peace initiatives.

CNN's Chris Burns joins us from Jerusalem this morning with the latest from there -- hi, Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Yet another Israeli settler wounded overnight in the West Bank near his settlement near Ramallah. His fellow settlers say that his car was riddled with more than a dozen bullets. One of those bullets entered his neck. He lies seriously wounded.

That, of course, coming hours -- within hours after the Israeli forces moved into two Palestinian West Bank villages in raids going after suspected Palestinian militants. They detained some 30. They also shot dead four Palestinian policemen who, according to Israeli officials, had -- they drove their cars a couple of Israeli roadblocks, so that violence, of course, continuing.

Also in the wake of a terrorist -- a suicide bombing attack in Haifa the day before. That, of course, leaving the suicide bomber dead and a number of Israelis there wounded.

Amid all of this back and forth attacks, also the peace initiative or the -- we shouldn't even call it a peace initiative -- it's actually a truce process that Anthony Zinni, the U.S. envoy, is pursuing in the last couple of weeks. But he's about ready to throw up his hands, according to various sources that say he is getting fed up and frustrated by his efforts to try to get both sides to stop the violence and to start talking peace.

According to some sources, they say that Zinni is giving both sides about 48 hours to show, at least, that they are willing to talk security, willing to stop the violence on both sides, so that they can start talking peace -- that we'll have to see in the coming days.

At the same time overnight, there was a reported offer by four Palestinian militant organizations to bring about a cease-fire to stop their attacks for about a week until the end of Ramadan. That would have filled the demand by the Israelis for there to be no longer any violence on the Palestinian side, so that peace talks can resume. However, Israelis rejected that offer entirely outright, and the Palestinian groups later retracted that offer.

So all eyes are on the meetings today between the -- bilateral meetings between Anthony Zinni and the Israelis and the Palestinians trying to put together a three-way set of talks in the coming days -- Carol.

LIN: A big challenge indeed. Thank you very much -- Chris Burns reporting live from Jerusalem.

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