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CNN Live At Daybreak

Israeli Ban on Arafat Draws Criticism

Aired December 24, 2001 - 06:06   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.
SACHI KOTO, CNN ANCHOR: Israel is putting a price on Palestinian authority President Yasser Arafat's annual Christmas Eve pilgrimage to Bethlehem.

CNN's Jerrold Kessel is in Jerusalem with the story. Jerrold.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Sachi and a real pre-Christmas showdown here developing after the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon refusing to budge in his ban on Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian Authority President traveling to take part in the midnight mass in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

As Mr. Arafat, who is a practicing Muslim, but has always, since the Palestinian Authority has come into existence, attended the church services on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. Now Mr. Sharon adamant -- he is not allowing Mr. Arafat to go there.

Well, this morning in Ramallah on the West Bank, Mr. Arafat's headquarters, where, for all intents and purposes, he's been marooned for the last several weeks, a number of leaving churchmen who would be -- would have been in that church this evening -- in the Church of the Nativity with Mr. Arafat went to pay their respects to him led by the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Monsieur Michael Sabach. And other than saying -- Mr. Arafat -- other than saying that the Palestinian people will not be made be to be bowed and they -- in the same way they could not be brought down, as King Herod, he said, using a biblical reference was not able to cut down Jesus -- the Palestinian people would not be able to be brought down.

Other than saying that he did not make in any way clear what exactly he plans to do in the wake of the ban imposed by the Israelis, will he just lay back and enjoy the pressure that's being brought from the international community, from the religious world, religious leaders around the world, from the United States on Mr. Sharon or will he attempt, as he is said to do -- said he will do -- to go, in any event to Bethlehem, to try to pass -- bypass the Israeli checkpost even to go on foot -- Mr. Arafat has said he would do.

Well, today he wasn't saying anything of that sort. The Latin Patriarch who came there said very firmly that this was an attempt to besmirch the dignity of the Palestinian people, because any attempt to hurt the dignity of the Palestinian president said Monsieur Sabach hurt all Palestinians, whether Christians or Muslims. He is now -- the Latin Patriarch has gone to begin those -- the services, the festivities. They're traveling down to Bethlehem from Jerusalem.

Meanwhile Mr. Arafat stays in Ramallah, and the Israelis are ratcheting up the pressure. They've delivered a new ultimatum, saying that not only is the ban there because Mr. Arafat has not brought pressure to bear on the Islamic radicals and militants and stopped them from carrying out terror activities against Israel, but they want him -- Ariel Sharon wants him to arrest four people whom the Israelis say were responsible for the killing of an Israeli cabinet minister some three months ago.

And without that, Mr. Arafat will stay where he is. It is not, say, aides of Prime Minister Sharon, at all a question of freedom of religious expression.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

RA'ANAN GISSEN, SHARON SPOKESMAN: He's not a prisoner. I will just say that there's a lot of things that he can do in Ramallah and once he does those things that he's required to do in Ramallah, he can go elsewhere -- travel elsewhere, and make sure that they're also fighting terrorism in other areas. First, let him do it in Ramallah.

KESSEL: And until then he cannot leave?

GISSEN: Until then, he will be restricted to Ramallah.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

KESSEL: Well maybe not a prisoner, but certainly restricted to Ramallah, and very much a showdown now unfolding on this Christmas Eve here in the Holy Land -- Sachi.

KOTO: Thank you. All right. Jerrold Kessel live from Jerusalem.

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