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Erakat Resigns
Aired May 16, 2003 - 14:11 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Just ahead, the first Palestinian- Israeli summit in two-and-a-half years. The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat, has handed in his letter of resignation.
CNN's Kelly Wallace is in Jerusalem with the latest on what that means -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you know, the big question continues to be, why is Saeb Erakat resigning and why now? And it does appear it is connected to the fact that Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian prime minister, decided not to include Saeb Erakat in the Palestinian delegation that will be traveling here to Jerusalem tomorrow night to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Now Erakat, for his part, is not commenting and he says such suggestion that this is the reason for him stepping down is -- quote -- "nonsense."
But many Palestinian officials and other observers believe this, in fact, is the reason that Erakat is a Yasser Arafat loyalist. He is, after all, the chief Palestinian negotiator. And that he felt he should be at this meeting.
Right now the resignation will take effect one week from now and it does not appear that it has been officially accepted just yet, leaving the door open possibly to Saeb Erakat perhaps resuming his old job -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Kelly, what about the summit tomorrow? What's on the table? What will be discussed? What's the priority?
WALLACE: This is key, Kyra, because it is the first such high- level meeting between the Israelis and the Palestinians two-and-a-half years. It will be the first meeting of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as prime minister with the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas. The two men have met before, but this is the first time they're meeting in their roles as prime minister.
Many people say this is significant because just getting the two sides talking again is key. But it is not clear that there will be any major breakthrough because the two sides really have a different agenda. The Palestinians want the Israelis to go ahead and formally accept and implement that so-called road map right now, saying that the Israelis need to do that before the Palestinians should be required to do things such as trying to crackdown on these radical Palestinian groups. But the Israelis will say they need to see more. They need to see concrete action by Mahmoud Abbas and others before Israel is comfortable for security reasons, pulling its forces out. So most people what will likely come out of this is maybe starting the process of talking again and maybe another meeting down the road -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Kelly Wallace live from Jerusalem, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 16, 2003 - 14:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Just ahead, the first Palestinian- Israeli summit in two-and-a-half years. The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat, has handed in his letter of resignation.
CNN's Kelly Wallace is in Jerusalem with the latest on what that means -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you know, the big question continues to be, why is Saeb Erakat resigning and why now? And it does appear it is connected to the fact that Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian prime minister, decided not to include Saeb Erakat in the Palestinian delegation that will be traveling here to Jerusalem tomorrow night to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Now Erakat, for his part, is not commenting and he says such suggestion that this is the reason for him stepping down is -- quote -- "nonsense."
But many Palestinian officials and other observers believe this, in fact, is the reason that Erakat is a Yasser Arafat loyalist. He is, after all, the chief Palestinian negotiator. And that he felt he should be at this meeting.
Right now the resignation will take effect one week from now and it does not appear that it has been officially accepted just yet, leaving the door open possibly to Saeb Erakat perhaps resuming his old job -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Kelly, what about the summit tomorrow? What's on the table? What will be discussed? What's the priority?
WALLACE: This is key, Kyra, because it is the first such high- level meeting between the Israelis and the Palestinians two-and-a-half years. It will be the first meeting of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as prime minister with the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas. The two men have met before, but this is the first time they're meeting in their roles as prime minister.
Many people say this is significant because just getting the two sides talking again is key. But it is not clear that there will be any major breakthrough because the two sides really have a different agenda. The Palestinians want the Israelis to go ahead and formally accept and implement that so-called road map right now, saying that the Israelis need to do that before the Palestinians should be required to do things such as trying to crackdown on these radical Palestinian groups. But the Israelis will say they need to see more. They need to see concrete action by Mahmoud Abbas and others before Israel is comfortable for security reasons, pulling its forces out. So most people what will likely come out of this is maybe starting the process of talking again and maybe another meeting down the road -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Kelly Wallace live from Jerusalem, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
