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American Morning

More Violence in the Middle East

Aired February 20, 2002 - 07:32   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We turn now to the escalating violence in the Middle East. Early this morning, Israel lashed out violently at Palestinian targets. In a barrage of coordinated attacks, Israeli forces killed as many as 16 Palestinians, including 2 children and 5 members of Yasser Arafat's personal guard. The series of assaults came in response to an attack just hours earlier by a gunman who killed six Israeli soldiers.

CNN's Jerrold Kessel joins us now from Jerusalem with the very latest.

Good morning, Jerrold.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

And we've heard now from Prime Minister Sharon himself when he -- after chairing a Security Cabinet meeting this morning came out and said that Israel will now engage in a different course of action. That's what the Prime Minister said. He'd approved of the military and the security services to engage and to handle these Palestinian attacks.

But really this is a question of what does that mean, and it's perhaps a time when deeds more than words will speak louder, because if the Israelis are talking about a different course of action, does that mean a tactical change or does it mean a strategic change? And Mr. Sharon, at least until last night before this attack on the Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, had been saying bluntly he didn't want the situation to deteriorate to the extent that it could get in the way of potential U.S. plans to act in the area against, for instance, Iraq. Mr. Sharon said that would be against Israel's better interest and he did not want the situation to escalate.

But having said that, we've seen some very fierce Israeli revenge moves this morning and late last night against the Palestinians after that attack on the six soldiers which left six soldiers dead. Sixteen Palestinians killed in a variety of Israeli actions by land, sea and in -- and from the air.

And the question then is if some officials close to Mr. Sharon the different course of action means that there will be more regular, more intense and more fierce Israeli ongoing military actions does that not mean that Mr. Sharon, whether he declares it or not, might be actually working towards the undercutting of the Palestinian Authority? So the big question is maybe that will be the end result whether he desires it or not.

And if Mr. Sharon just a few minutes ago has been saying he doesn't want to lead Israelis into war, but if the ongoing attacks continue and the Palestinian attacks continue, might that not just be heading in that direction? Perhaps it is actions rather than intentions which will hold sway and that is why this is just such a dangerous moment for this ongoing confrontation -- Paula.

ZAHN: So, Jerrold, as we all try to sit here and analyze what this different course of action means, what is the expectation of the Israeli people that this will lead to an all-out war?

KESSEL: You know they're becoming more and more divided. And one of the strange things that we've discovered over the last few weeks that so many people have said that what this confrontation with the Palestinians had done had -- it had buried the old divisions, those searing divisions within Israeli society. But really what's come out in the last few weeks is that those old divisions are back and back with real intensity and with feeling. And you've got Mr. Sharon facing conflicting demands of the far right demanding that he go after the Palestinian Authority, that he really get rid of Yasser Arafat, nothing less than that. And on the -- on the left, you've got a reviving of peace moves and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres saying that there must be a political agenda associated and affiliated to the military action, that a military alone -- a military solution alone simply won't work. And as I say, Mr. Sharon somewhere in between those two things.

But the question is will he be dragged one way or another as he himself says I don't want it to go down towards war. Can he please the Israeli people and say I'm leading you to war, but there are those conflicting demands of him. It is a very, very tenuous situation not only between Israelis and Palestinians but within Israeli society itself -- Paula.

ZAHN: Jerrold Kessel, thank you very much for helping us cut through some of the gray area there.

For his reaction to the escalating violence and where this morning of Sharon approving a new type of response to Palestinian attacks, we turn to Richard Butler, our ambassador in residence -- good morning.

RICHARD BUTLER, FORMER UNITED NATIONS CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: What do you think this all means?

BUTLER: We don't know. It's really serious and it's two points. It's very serious and it's not at all clear. The Prime Minister of Israel when during the election campaign said to the people I will bring you peace. Now perhaps to be fair to him he didn't know how far the Palestinian side would go with suicide bombers and so on, but it would appear with this new policy, the details of which we don't know, that he's going to be bringing war. These are very serious and savage attacks, obviously provoked, but you know it's action-reaction. But this is serious and we don't know how far he will go. And we don't know, above all, whether this means that he is abandoning the peace process in a situation, as Jerrold Kessel has so rightly pointed out, where many, many Israelis, angry though they are against what Palestinians have been doing, on the other hand are becoming anxious at a policy of war...

ZAHN: Well sure.

BUTLER: ... and want to -- and want to see their leaders get back in some way to some sort of negotiation about peace.

ZAHN: So while we try to figure out whether this will be a tactical or a strategic change...

BUTLER: Right.

ZAHN: ... on Mr. Sharon's part, the fact remains that there are a number of plans out there that are being considered that might bring both parties back to the peace table.

BUTLER: Absolutely. There's a plan emanating from Europe. There's a plan being put forward by a very distinguished professor in this country. There are several others that all have these common things: one, deep conviction that war will not solve this problem. And Mr. Sharon's attention really ought to be drawn to that conviction as he thinks about these further measures that, you know, we're going to hear more of.

Two,...

ZAHN: But we have no way of knowing where his head is...

BUTLER: No.

ZAHN: ... on that at this moment.

BUTLER: Secondly, that the fundamental requirement is to get some kind of interim agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis on land, on the extent of each of their territory. Maybe not a final agreement, but to seek an agreement now on where a Palestinian state would be and of course, Israel. And to set aside for maybe two to three years the other thorny issues of refugees and the status of Jerusalem, to do this now as a means of stabilizing the situation.

There's a -- there's a lot of merit in these ideas, Paula. They're not -- no, none of it's absolutely simple, and these ideas have also got widespread international backing. I think they deserve attention, but I don't know under -- whether under these circumstances this Israeli government will give it attention.

ZAHN: Given this juncture that we all find ourselves in in the Middle East, what is your expectation of how involved the United States will get in this process?

BUTLER: Again, I'm not sure. The administration didn't want to touch it at the beginning of its term, which is now a year old, I think partly to draw a distinction between themselves and the Clinton administration. Now since that time, they've realized that this isn't going to go anywhere without American involvement. And, Paula, the voices around the world are rising daily saying to the U.S. please take an active role in this. This isn't going to be solved unless you commit yourself to it. And in the last few months, of course, the administration sent General Zinni as its lead negotiator on this issue.

Now as the violence increased in the last few weeks, Zinni was taken home. He's not there at the moment. Quite frankly, I do think this is the time maybe for Secretary of State Powell to step up to this as there are these very concrete proposals out there now to stabilize the situation, to given an interim agreement and to stop the policy of war.

ZAHN: Even if it's just a symbolic move?

BUTLER: It would be more than symbolic, but even that could help.

Paula, we're looking at the prospect of a slide towards serious war, and I don't think anyone believes that that's the solution. Anyway, we'll see as these days unfold.

ZAHN: All right. Richard Butler, as always,...

BUTLER: Good.

ZAHN: ... good of you to join us...

BUTLER: Good to see you.

ZAHN: ... this time in the morning. Thank you, Mr. Ambassador.

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