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CNN Live At Daybreak
Arafat Speech Met With Skepticism and More Violence
Aired December 17, 2001 - 05:16 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 the Mideast, Israel and Washington are taking a skeptical "wait and see" attitude toward Yasser Arafat's Sunday speech. Arafat called on Palestinians to end violence against Israelis and vowed to arrest those responsible for any attacks.
But hours after Arafat's speech, a mortar was fired into a Jewish settlement in southern Gaza. And we've just gotten word that Israeli troops killed a member of Hamas during a raid in the West Bank.
For more now on the Mideast, that's where we find overnight, that overnight mortar explosion in a Jewish village, which is punctuating Israeli and U.S. demands that Arafat back his words with actions.
CNN's Chris Burns is live in Jerusalem with more on that -- Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. Well, that mortar attack did not injure anyone. It was one mortar that was fired into a Jewish settlement in Gaza, so apparently no immediate military response for that directly by the Israeli military.
However, they were also not waiting for Arafat to act against Palestinian militants. They have gone ahead this morning in an incursion into Hebron on the West Bank, going after a Hamas leader in Hebron. They went to his home and according to both the Israeli forces and the Palestinian security forces, the suspect was trying to flee when the Israeli forces shot and killed him. So that was an action that was taken despite the call by Yasser Arafat that he will, on his own, crack down against the Muslim militants.
Now, Arafat's speech last night was a very important speech. It was his strongest yet against militant activity. He said that actually these militants are working against Arafat's quest for a Palestinian state, that those attacks are actually playing into the hands of Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, to be able to wage more attacks, air strikes and so forth and incursions against the Palestinians, and this is actually really a test of will between Arafat and those militants.
This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASSER ARAFAT, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY: We will not allow anything but the one national authority on this land and in this homeland, one authority that once it takes a decision it has to be respected. And it has to be respected. And when this authority commits or takes a commitment, it has to be honored and when it signs an agreement or starts an initiative there should be full credibility to the stand taken by the authority, yes, the full credibility to our stand.
Therefore, we have declared a state of emergency and we started a series of measures and we will continue with these measures, including outlawing organizations that carry out terror activities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNS: And, of course, Arafat calling for an end for the first time really in a speech like this, calling for an end to suicide bombings, some of which have taken dozens, the lives of dozens of Israelis in the last few weeks.
What is the reaction from the Israelis? Well, they say they'll believe that action when they see it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RA'ANAN GISSIN, ARIEL SHARON'S SPOKESMAN: This is not the time for words. It's the time for Yasser Arafat to make the critical decisions, to change from the strategy of terror he started 14 months ago to a strategy of peace, to tell his own security forces to stop engaging in terrorist activity or to discipline them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNS: Now, the mortar attack in the hours after Arafat's speech does not bode well. However, Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who is considered a moderate and a dove within the cabinet, has called for the Israeli government to give Arafat a few days to prove his meddle -- Carol.
LIN: Chris, what can you tell us about a Palestinian leader who was detained in East Jerusalem?
BURNS: Well, that's right. This leader was considered one of, really, the chief figure, political figure in East Jerusalem. His, he was detained by the Israelis when he called, he had called a reception for various leaders and religious leaders in East Jerusalem. This was along in, a reception that would follow on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr, which is a very important Muslim holiday today.
The Israelis detained him and then released him. However, it's a very sort of symbolic detention because the leader was defying Israeli police orders that he should not hold that reception in East Jerusalem.
Of course, East Jerusalem was taken by the Israelis in 1967 and annexed. However, that annexation is not recognized by other countries -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much.
Chris Burns reporting live from Jerusalem with many developments in that region, part of the world.
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