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Powell Peace Mission
Aired June 20, 2003 - 13:27 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: Secretary of State Colin Powell is trying to make sure violence doesn't derail the Middle East road map. He met separately with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers today, calling on both of them to bend in pursuit of peace.
CNN's Sheila MacVicar live now from Jerusalem with the latest -- Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, Secretary of State Powell arrived here today for his meeting, saying that there was a moment of opportunity, and it was necessary for all parties to move forward with speed and with deliberateness.
Now the first morning of -- the first meeting of the day was with the Israeli Prime Minister Sharon. They talked about a number of issues. Secretary Powell saying at the conclusion of that meeting, that he believes that Israel has made some progress on certain issues, referring specifically to that dismantling of the occupied settlement outpost that we saw yesterday. It took something like 1,200 Israeli soldiers and police more than 12 hours to bring down a couple tents and a few ramshackle sheds. Mr. Powell saying that was the kind of progress there needed to be.
Now he then went on to have a meeting with the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, down in the West Bank town of Jericho. It was at that meeting, of course, that there was a lot of discussion about the security issues. They are trying to arrange a situation where Israeli forces could withdraw from Gaza and from Bethlehem, or part of Gaza and Bethlehem, and the security matters turned over to the Palestinians. They've not yet arrived at an appropriate arrangement.
And one of the things that seems to be holding up the agreement, listening to Prime Minister Abbas, was the feeling on the part of some of the Palestinian parties that Israel and the Israeli government were not doing enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We know that peace in the situation on the Palestinian side then, it is necessary for the Israeli party also to stop all their assassination incursions, abolishing, and all other provocative acts that -- because if they continue, will only bring the violence from there once again.
So when we demand all our people to appease, and we say our people are ready to calm the situation, the Israeli population should also be ready to stop all these operations. And without their commitment, without their real willingness, I don't think things will be stable in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACVICAR: Now, one of the things that's been reported extensively here in Israel over the course of the last week are negotiations amongst the Palestinian factions led by Prime Minister Abbas who has been trying to negotiate what has been described as a kind of cease-fire or truce with the group's Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Secretary of State Powell making very clear today that he shared the opinion of Israel's prime minister, that a cease-fire would simply not be enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECY. OF STATE: The enemy of peace has been Hamas, especially over the last two weeks. I don't think it's possible any longer to separate it out into various pieces. The funding is fungible. The leadership takes credit, despite whatever charitable or other social good these organizations may perform, as long as they have, as an organizational culture, a commitment to terror and violence and a desire to destroy the state of Israel, I think this is a problem we have to deal with in its entirety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACVICAR: The secretary of state going on to say it was his view, a view shared, again, by Israel's prime minister, that it was necessary that groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad be disarmed, and that guns, he said should only be in the possessions of governments which could be held responsible as to how they used them -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Sheila MacVicar, live from Jerusalem. Thanks, Sheila.
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 June 20, 2003 - 13:27 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Secretary of State Colin Powell is trying to make sure violence doesn't derail the Middle East road map. He met separately with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers today, calling on both of them to bend in pursuit of peace.
CNN's Sheila MacVicar live now from Jerusalem with the latest -- Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, Secretary of State Powell arrived here today for his meeting, saying that there was a moment of opportunity, and it was necessary for all parties to move forward with speed and with deliberateness.
Now the first morning of -- the first meeting of the day was with the Israeli Prime Minister Sharon. They talked about a number of issues. Secretary Powell saying at the conclusion of that meeting, that he believes that Israel has made some progress on certain issues, referring specifically to that dismantling of the occupied settlement outpost that we saw yesterday. It took something like 1,200 Israeli soldiers and police more than 12 hours to bring down a couple tents and a few ramshackle sheds. Mr. Powell saying that was the kind of progress there needed to be.
Now he then went on to have a meeting with the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, down in the West Bank town of Jericho. It was at that meeting, of course, that there was a lot of discussion about the security issues. They are trying to arrange a situation where Israeli forces could withdraw from Gaza and from Bethlehem, or part of Gaza and Bethlehem, and the security matters turned over to the Palestinians. They've not yet arrived at an appropriate arrangement.
And one of the things that seems to be holding up the agreement, listening to Prime Minister Abbas, was the feeling on the part of some of the Palestinian parties that Israel and the Israeli government were not doing enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We know that peace in the situation on the Palestinian side then, it is necessary for the Israeli party also to stop all their assassination incursions, abolishing, and all other provocative acts that -- because if they continue, will only bring the violence from there once again.
So when we demand all our people to appease, and we say our people are ready to calm the situation, the Israeli population should also be ready to stop all these operations. And without their commitment, without their real willingness, I don't think things will be stable in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACVICAR: Now, one of the things that's been reported extensively here in Israel over the course of the last week are negotiations amongst the Palestinian factions led by Prime Minister Abbas who has been trying to negotiate what has been described as a kind of cease-fire or truce with the group's Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Secretary of State Powell making very clear today that he shared the opinion of Israel's prime minister, that a cease-fire would simply not be enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECY. OF STATE: The enemy of peace has been Hamas, especially over the last two weeks. I don't think it's possible any longer to separate it out into various pieces. The funding is fungible. The leadership takes credit, despite whatever charitable or other social good these organizations may perform, as long as they have, as an organizational culture, a commitment to terror and violence and a desire to destroy the state of Israel, I think this is a problem we have to deal with in its entirety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACVICAR: The secretary of state going on to say it was his view, a view shared, again, by Israel's prime minister, that it was necessary that groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad be disarmed, and that guns, he said should only be in the possessions of governments which could be held responsible as to how they used them -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Sheila MacVicar, live from Jerusalem. Thanks, Sheila.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
