Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Some in Middle East Believe Peace Still a Possibility

Aired August 03, 2001 - 11:27   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Israeli police are on high alert in Jerusalem after a week of escalating clashes there. Israeli officials cite fears of retaliation for a Tuesday's attack on the offices of Islamic militant group Hamas. West Bank Palestinian men and those younger than 40 have been barred from prayers at an old city holy site.

On Thursday, Israeli prime Minister Ariel Sharon indicated that peace may not be possible and Israel should lower its sights. At the same time, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called for an end to all violence.

And through all of this, there are still some who believe peace is possible. And joining us now are two such men. In Tel Aviv, Yossi Beilin, former Israeli justice minister. And joining us from Gaza City, Yasser Abed Robbo. He is a Palestinian Authority information minister.

And, gentlemen, as I understand it, both of you took part in the negotiations that took place in Taba back in January of this year, and as I read the editorial that was published, written by you and published in "The New York Times," you say both sides reached, or came agonizingly close to actually coming to peace agreement. Is that true?

YASSER ABED RABBO, PALESTINIAN INFO. MINISTER: Yes, I think it's true, and I think Mr. Beilin agrees with me.

Hello.

HARRIS: Yes, we do hear you. Mr. Beilin, do you agree with that?

YOSSI BEILIN, FMR. ISRAELI JUSTICE MINISTER: Undoubtedly so. I mean, our feeling then when we stopped negotiations on the eve of the Israeli elections was that we were very, very close to an agreement, and equitable, quality time in order to achieve such an agreement. This is why we are feeling it is really lunatic to give up on a chance for peace, not to go for the last mile and find a solution between us.

HARRIS: Well, right now, we are in a situation where both sides are waiting for the other side to do something first. What has to happen in order to make everyone, not just leaders, not just those on the treaties, what has to happen to make everyone say that enough is enough, let's go ahead and sit down at table until we do reach an a treatment and not leave -- Mr. Rabbo.

RABBO: Well, I think we need American interference, A serious one, and not American just watching what is going on, and then commenting on it, and sometimes they condemn this incident or that.

We need to see that there are here American observers to monitor the implementation of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) recommendations, which guarantee cease-fire and which seek to put an end to all settlement activities on Palestinian land, and in order to resume the negotiations, the negotiations that we had stopped, and we want to resume in the near future. And this way, we believe we can overcome the difficulties of the moment.

HARRIS: Mr. Rabbo, if I could follow up with that one statement you made a moment ago. You said you want the U.S. involved seriously. Can you be more specific about that?

RABBO: Yes, the United States had promised there will be monitors, or observers, in order to monitor the cease-fire. And there was a decision the in summit of the G8 two weeks ago to have a fair party monitor the cease-fire and monitor the implementation of Mitchell's recommendations, but we are facing now a kind of a hesitant position by the administration, and that hesitance is encouraging, in fact, the atrocities that's committed by Sharon's government, especially in the past days, where we had faced an escalation in the assassination policies; 23 Palestinians were assassinated. Among them were two children and two journalists.

HARRIS: I'm sorry to interrupt you,but I would lake to give Mr. Beilin a chance to answer that question your comments as well -- Mr. Beilin.

BEILIN: Well, actually both sides declared the cease-fire, but it has not been implemented because both of them have their own representation, interpretation of what a cease-fire means. There is a need for a monitoring group, and we hope Americans will be ready to monitor such a cease-fire. I'm afraid that's not the case. I'm afraid that we cannot impose ourselves on the American administration, and that the current policy is actually hands off.

I think that people are sick and tired of us, Israelis and Palestinians, and actually tell us, try to find your own solution. The question is whether it is possible, even without an American help, to go further and to find the solution, because otherwise, if you're just finger-pointing at each other, it will be again kind of a vicious circle of violence without an end, and that is why both of us try to do something which is not business as usual way, while we get people on both sides -- intellectual, and some politicians, to sign together a declaration to address both people's, both leadership, tell them actually it is in your hands, you can do it.

We have a program. We have a partner. The Palestinians are our partners. The Israelis are their partners. We don't have better ones. If we don't sit together, try to continue what we began to do just some months ago, both of us will have to pay a very, very high price. HARRIS: It sounds as though two of you men have come to a peace agreement of your own in your own minds. Is it possible then, Mr. Rabbo, for a peace agreement to actually take hold in your region with the two leaders who are now in place. Will they are to be moved off the landscape? Will there have to be a totally new leadership in place on both sides to engender any new thinking on this?

RABBO: I don't think now we have to deal with such an issue, to change leaders or whatever it is. I think that both should recognize that this is the choice of every people. This is the choice of the Palestinian people President Arafat was elected. And this was the choice of Israeli people to elect Mr. Sharon. We don't want to deal with this. We think that there is a possibility to bring, once again, the peace process into life. We believe that the violence should be stopped in accordance with the recommendations that was drastic and introduced both sides by the American side, by Tenet's paper and by Mitchell's recommendations. There is a need to go forward.

Now I don't want to speak about the different forms of atrocities that are committed against us, against the Palestinian people, but I want to say that we and Israeli peace camp agree that the basic issue we should address is to end the occupation, because without putting an end to occupation, the occupation of the Palestinian people and Palestinian land, we will not have a just peace, so that we will have a Palestinian independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital, besides Israel, and Jerusalem as capital as well.

HARRIS: Well, let me let Mr. Beilin get his answer in now -- Mr. Beilin.

BEILIN: Well, generally speaking, this is my view. I think that what is very important is of course to end the violence and end the occupation and sit together and find the real solution for all outstanding issues. One issue I may perhaps add is that we have a course to implement the Mitchell Report, which has suggested a timeline for both sides, and the Tenet suggests for the cease-fire, but we may also think about reconvening Madrid conference, which first convened on October 30th, 1991. I think that if we meet there again, after 10 years, to sum up achievements of the last 10 years and see what should be done from now on with the sponsorship of the Americans and the Russians, maybe that might be a very important milestone ahead of us.

I think that this is one of the issues about which we have to speak between us, ourselves and the Palestinians, and with two cosponsors, the Americans and the Russians. Maybe now in this very gloomy situation, where Israelis and Palestinians finds themselves embroiled in very cruel activities, killing each other. We have to say stop it, for Heaven's sake, let us create coalition and try to meet together in an international context in order to continue and talk peacefully about the future.

HARRIS: Well, we sure do appreciate you two gentlemen coming together on our program this morning.

Mr. Yossi Beilin, Mr. Yasser Abed Rabbo, thank you very much. it appears the two of you have come to some sort of a peaceful agreement in your own minds. Good luck to you in convincing a couple of other hundred thousands to do the same thing. We will watch the situation closely of course.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www. fdch. com