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First Night of Israeli Passover Celebration Marked by Brutal Terror Attack
Aired March 27, 2002 - 20:00 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.
MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: I'm Mike Hanna. The first night of the Jewish Passover marked not by celebration but by a brutal terror attack and a tottering ceasefire process now in real jeopardy. In Beirut, Arab leaders wrangle at a summit marked by stairways and division. Coming up in LIVE FROM ISRAEL.
ANNOUNCER: The sun had just set. The Passover satyr was about to begin, when another Palestinian walked in and blew himself up.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're having tonight is a Passover massacre.
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ANNOUNCER: A claim of responsibility from Hamas.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): In the name of God, this attack and other attacks are a message.
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ANNOUNCER: But a different message from other Palestinian leaders. Strong words from President Bush.
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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This callous, this cold-blooded killing, it must stop. I condemn it in the most strongest of terms. I call upon Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to do everything in their power to stop the terrorist killing.
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ANNOUNCER: But will the blast prove fatal for American efforts to hammer out a ceasefire in the region?
LIVE FROM ISRAEL, Mike Hanna. HANNA: The death toll now is 19 people, dead too, the suicide bomber responsible for the attack. As many as 120 people have been injured.
Israel has experienced many terror attacks over past months, but on this, the first night of the Jewish Passover, we look at pictures of the destruction seldom seen. A little over nine hours ago, this hotel was thronged with people, happy people, beginning to celebrate one of the most significant holidays of the Jewish year.
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HANNA (voice-over): What was a celebration turned into a scene of utter devastation. The banqueting hall of a hotel in the Israeli town of Netanya ripped apart. This is the result of a suicide bombing. A Palestinian walking past an armed guard at the entrance of the hotel and detonating an explosive device.
In addition to those killed, more than 100 injured, in one of the most brutal attacks yet in the 18 months of continuous violence that has marked the intifadah or Palestinian uprising. And Israeli anger fueled even further by the fact that this is the beginning of Passover. Those killed and injured, attending the traditional sadier or Passover dinner that marks the start of the weeklong holiday. From an Israeli government spokesman, revulsion and fury.
RA'ANAN GISSIN, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: Then, we are going to exercise our right of self-defense, the same as the United States did when it attacked the Taliban. And we will use the necessary measures, taking due concern, I'm telling you, a major effort not to create any regional escalation in this conflict, but to strike at the terrorists, dismantle the terrorists' infrastructure, do what the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat failed to do for the past 18 months.
HANNA: The Palestinian authority, accused by Israel of bearing responsibility, condemned the attack, saying it was designed to undermine a U.S. truce mission and the Arab summit taking place in Beirut.
NABIL SHRATH, PALESTINIAN CABINET MEMBER: We've always took a consistent line of condemning action against civilians, whether they're Israelis or Palestinians, especially at this time, holidays.
HANNA: But no regrets expressed by a spokesman for the radical Hamas movement, the armed wing of which claimed responsibility for the killing and wounding of so many Israelis.
USMA HAMDAN, HAMAS SPOKESMAN: They are killing our people. They are destroying our houses, attacking us by - all they have, the American (UNINTELLIGIBLE), they have it. So this is a trial to talk - to send a letter, a message, for all the world that we are trying to fight for our own freedom against a terrorist government in Israel led by Sharon.
HANNA: The Sharon government, in recent weeks, has maintained it's been practicing restraint in acting to acts of terror. This carnage will test the declared Israeli position to the utmost and threatens to kill, too, a ceasefire process that was barely alive to begin with.
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HANNA: Well, I'm joined now, from the scene, by the mayor of Netanya, Miriam Fireberg.
Thank you very much for joining us on this deeply tragic evening. Your reaction to this devastating attack, Mayor?
Mayor Fireberg appears to have difficulty hearing us. Can...
MIRIAM FIREBERG, MAYOR OF NETANYA: I can't hear. Can you...
HANNA: Can - if I speak a bit louder, can you hear? We have slight technical difficulties.
FIREBERG: I don't hear you.
HANNA: We'll be back with the mayor of Netanya in a moment.
Meanwhile, U.S. President George Bush was on his way to Georgia when he received news of the attack. He's condemned it in the strongest of terms. Here's CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace.
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KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Atlanta, an outraged President Bush sent a tough message to Yasser Arafat.
BUSH: This callous, this cold-blooded killing, it must stop. I condemn it in the most strongest of terms. I call upon Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to do everything in their power to stop the terrorist killing.
WALLACE: And the president's secretary of state issued specific demands.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is the time for Chairman Arafat to get on television, to get on radio, to speak to his people, to tell them that they are destroying their own desire and vision.
WALLACE: Even after the latest deadly suicide bombing, the president's focus remains on Special Envoy Anthony Zinni's ceasefire negotiations, this, after a series of setbacks for the administration's stepped-up engagement strategy.
Here's how the White House hoped things would go -- Zinni brokers a ceasefire between the Israelis and Palestinians, then Vice President Cheney holds the highest level U.S. meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. That meeting would then give cover to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to allow Arafat to travel to the Arab League Summit in Beirut. But none of that happened and with Arafat still in Ramallah, questions in the Arab world about U.S. influence and credibility.
SHIBLEY TELHAMI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: They say if the U.S. cannot deliver even on a logistical issue, having Arafat attend this summit, having a summit being successful, then how could one expect the U.S. to deliver on more important issues.
WALLACE: Now, the most deadly suicide attack in weeks, casting more doubt on the ceasefire talks and raising the stakes for the White House.
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WALLACE: And analysts say it is critical that the United States remain deeply engaged. To that, senior U.S. officials tell CNN there are no plans to recall General Zinni, that he will remain in the region that one top Bush adviser - quote -- "It is too important not to keep trying to stop the violence" - Mike.
HANNA: Kelly, what impact do U.S. officials think this attack will have on the terribly tenuous ceasefire process?
WALLACE: You know that is the question that they truly, truly can't answer. They say they simply do not know and they will be watching. Because of the Passover holiday, the next trilateral talks between General Zinni and the Israelis and Palestinians are likely not to take place until Thursday evening at the earliest.
Mike, the interesting thing is President Bush started out this day upbeat, hearing reports from General Zinni that General Zinni and the Israelis and the Palestinians were making - quote - "very good progress." So the hope is that progress can continue, but really, no one knows exactly how this deadly, deadly violence will impact those talks that were underway - Mike.
HANNA: Kelly Wallace, thank you very much, indeed, for that.
Well, dispute at the Arab Summit coming up after the break.
ANNOUNCER: Next, the deadly bombing comes as Arab leaders meet and argue over peace in the Middle East. A report from the Arab Summit in Beirut, Lebanon, when we return.
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ANNOUNCER: Netanya has been the scene of many terrorist attacks over the past decade. Location may be one reason. The city of 175,000 people is located just 10 miles from a major Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank.
HANNA: This was the first day of an Arab Summit in Beirut, during, which, even before the attack in Israel, there was bitter wrangling, at an occasion on which a formal Saudi peace initiative was due to be launched. With news on the day in Beirut and reaction to the Israeli attack, here's CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mike, news of that attack in Israel came as the opening day of this Arab League Summit was winding up. And of course, there was reaction here from delegates and from a Hamas official. Hamas having taken responsibility for that suicide bombing attack, saying these kinds of attacks will continue until Israel ended its occupation.
On the other hand, we then heard from Nabil Shrath, a senior member of the Palestinian Authority and senior member of the delegation here at the Arab League Summit. He said that he joined Yasser Arafat in condemning all attacks against Israeli civilians. He said that they have always condemned these attacks and particularly, he said, at this time of holiday, the Passover holiday in Israel. But he did go on to complain that Yasser Arafat had very little opportunity or ability right now to rein in the violence.
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SHRATH: There is very little President Arafat's power today that enable him to police a situation like this. The Israelis have managed successfully to destroy every security building or every security vehicle, every command and control center, every communication equipment and therefore, they have kept every police unit in the streets away from another by a tight siege that prevents mobility in the absolute sense.
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AMANPOUR: Even before news of the suicide bombing reached the Beirut summit participants here, this opening session was quite frankly, shambollic in terms of logistics, organization and atmosphere. All ready, two of the main leaders have refused to come, the president of Egypt and the king of Jordan, the two countries who have made peace with Israel did not come to this summit. Yasser Arafat, who has been confined to Ramallah by the Israelis, was due to make a satellite, live address to the summit. That was canceled when the Lebanese president literally pulled the plug.
However, the authorities here, or the leaders here, say that the substance of the summit, the endorsement of a Saudi initiative to offer full normalization of relations with Israel, in return for a withdraw to the 1967 borders, that will be endorsed, they say and they say that they have chosen a strategic path to peace. CNN's Brent Sadler has today's tumultuous events.
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BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the outset, the Beirut summit got off to a shaky start. A roll call of just 12 from 22 Arab leaders. Egypt and Jordan, key players in the Middle East peace process was absent, but worse was yet to come. The Palestinian delegation walked out, after Lebanon prevented Yasser Arafat, making a television speech live from his West Bank HQ. Instead, he appeared on an Arab satellite news channel. He backed the Saudi peace plan and denounced what he described as Israeli terror.
YASSER ARAFAT, PRESIDENT OF PALESTINIAN NATIONAL AUTHORITY (through translator): We are against killing civilians from both sides. But isn't occupation -- can I say, isn't occupation of our land or Israeli occupation of our land, Islamic and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) lines, Islamic and Christian alike, is an act of terror? Isn't collective punishment, a suffocating siege and military escalation that have been applied by the government of Israel, as on official policy against our people? Isn't it the worst form of terror?
SADLER: That appearance wasn't enough for the rally though.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Arafat has to allowed to address the conference live.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is Yasser Arafat...
SADLER: Lebanese president, Emile Lahoud, explained why Arafat's linkup was stopped. "Israel," he told the summit, "might have interfered with the transmission." Saudi sources expressed dismay.
The dispute overshadowed the impact of what should have been the main topic, adopting the Saudi peace initiative, which Crown Prince Abdullah said Israelis should take seriously.
CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH, SAUDI ARABIA (through translator): If their government abandons the policy of force and oppression and embraces true peace, we will not hesitate to accept the right of the Israeli people to live in security with the people of the region.
SADLER: Arab leaders are supporting the Palestinian intifadah. And in a hard-line statement, Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, expressed doubts Israel could ever deliver on the Saudi peace plan.
(on-camera): A plan at which Arab leaders insist is a major contribution to Middle East peace, and which the Palestinians, now expected to rejoin the summit, have endorsed.
Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.
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AMANPOUR: This was meant to be a day when the Arab leaders said that they were going to reach out to Israeli public opinion. And indeed, Crown Prince Abdullah, in his speech, specifically addressed the Israeli public for the first time, saying that they wanted to have peace with Israel, in return for a withdrawal to those 1967 borders.
And despite the bloodshed in Israel, the Arab leaders who we've spoken to here say, that for the very first time, this is a historic moment because they say, that they are, for the first time, offering a resounding yes to peace, normal relations and end to the conflict and Israel's right to exist in return for that withdrawal and an end to the occupation.
Back to you in Jerusalem, Mike. HANNA: Thank you very much indeed, Christiane Amanpour.
Well, let's go back now, to Netanya, the town just north of Tel Aviv, the scene of a massive suicide bombing a few hours ago. I'm joined by the chief of police in Netanya, Avi Biran.
Thank you very much indeed for joining us, sir. Can you hear me all right? Chief Biran, can you hear me?
AVI BIRAN, CHIEF OF POLICE, NETANYA: I can't hear you. Can you ask again?
HANNA: Chief Biran, can you give us your reaction to the -- good. Thank you very much for joining us. Your reaction to this devastating attack.
BIRAN: I think it's a very...
HANNA: Can you hear me all right?
BIRAN: ... turbulent event, about 250 -- about 250 people gathered this evening here in the hotel for the Passover dinner. And about 15 minutes after serving, a suicide bomber came in and blew himself into the crowd and as a result of this is about 140 people wounded, some of them very bad. And unfortunately, 19 people were killed, some of them tourists, some of them Israelis. And I think it's one of the very bad and serious events here in Netanya that knows already this last year, very much events like this.
HANNA: Netanya, Chief Biran, has been the scene of many terror attacks in recent weeks and months, none quite as serious as this. But why do you think that Netanya does appear to be a particular target of these terror attacks?
BIRAN: Netanya is on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, but it's in the - first, it's -- Greenland is very narrow. It's only about 15 minutes - 15 kilometers from Tukarin (ph) and from the West Bank to Netanya. It makes it very easy for them to come here and make it.
HANNA: Chief Biran, we apologize for these slight technical difficulties, but there has been intense security in place, particularly for this Passover holiday. How was it possible for the suicide bomber to get past security, to get into this crowded hotel?
BIRAN: This is, for us, to question and to investigate, but, as I told you, it's only takes 10 minutes driving Tukarin (ph) here to Netanya. And people that are living in Tukarin (ph), people that are making those things have been worked here in Israel. Some of them, in this hotel, they know Netanya very good and it's -- makes it very easy for them to come and do some things.
HANNA: Chief Avi Biran, the chief of Netanya's police, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us on this very difficult evening for you and for all in Netanya. There'll be more in LIVE FROM ISRAEL right after this break. ANNOUNCER: How should Israel react to Wednesday's terror attack? Escalate negotiations or retaliate militarily? To take the "Quick Vote," head to CNN.com. The AOL keyword is CNN.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: I'm Anderson Cooper in New York. Tonight on "THE POINT," a New Jersey study said just black motorists are twice as likely to speed as whites. See why few people are happy about the results, except maybe some state troopers. Also, putting a stop to campus binge drinking and a photo that got a tabloid in trouble. "THE POINT" begins in less than 10 minutes. Now, back to "LIVE FROM ISRAEL."
HANNA: We'll have more from the scene in Netanya when LIVE FROM ISRAEL resumes in a few moments.
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ANNOUNCER: For more on the violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories and the Arab summit in Beirut, head to CNN.com. The AOL keyword is CNN. While there, check out our special interactive section on the struggle for peace in the Middle East.
HANNA: Well, for the very latest on what's happening on the scene in Netanya, let's go now to CNN producer, Pierre Klochendler.
Pierre, what's happening?
PIERRE KLOCHENDLER, CNN PRODUCER: Good evening, Mike. Right now, eight hours after the suicide bomber blew himself up inside this hall, in the Park Hotel, police is finally finishing the work of getting all the -- all the information, gathering all the information about the type of explosive that was on the belt of the suicide bomber. The burial society has just finished its job an hour ago. The five last bodies out of the 19 dead Israelis were evacuated into ambulances.
What's remaining in the hall -- we've had access inside the hall. What's remaining is torn ceiling, water pipelines blown up, electrical wires and pools of blood. Back to you, Mike.
HANNA: The sad work goes on. Thank you, Pierre Klochendler.
Well, this, the traditional Passover, and one of the questions asked during the satyr, the Passover dinner -- why is this night different from all others? Well, on this night, the question has a deeply tragic rather than joyful ring.
That's it for LIVE FROM ISRAEL. I'm Mike Hanna. Good night.
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