Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Vice President Cheney Meets with Sharon, But Not With Arafat

Aired March 19, 2002 - 09:34   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.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the Middle East: Vice President Dick Cheney today met for a second time with Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, but not with Palestinian chairman Yasser Arafat. However, Cheney held open the possibility of such a meeting, if Arafat brings an end to the violence against Israelis. But the Palestinian leader has denied any direct responsibility for the terrorist attacks, and the attacks continued even today.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour had the rare opportunity to talk with some Palestinian militants who indicate the chairman is anything but "irrelevant."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a rare encounter with journalists, here in an orange orchard in Gaza, members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a military wing of Yasser Arafat's fatah movement told CNN they would abide by a cease-fire if Yasser Arafat orders one.

"Until we have a decision by cease-fire by our president," he says, "our operations continue."

Displaying some of their homemade mortars and other weapons, this group has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks that killed more than a dozen Israeli soldiers. They have also taken part in an operation to destroy an Israeli tank, as well as suicide bombings like the one in Jerusalem's orthodox Jewish neighborhood a few weeks ago.

We asked how they continue to justify attacking civilians.

"We prefer attacking military infrastructure, or army checkpoints," he says, "but the Israelis are stronger militarily than us, so we have to attack within the civilian population."

When told that attacking ordinary people erodes support for their cause, they point to places like the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza, population 100,000, teeming with despair and resistance. A recent Israeli military incursion destroyed metal shops suspected of being bomb-making factories and left 19 people dead.

(on camera): The Israelis raided the Jabaliya camp a week ago, and like in previous operations, they said this operation was to root out terror bases. And indeed some militants were killed, but the majority of those who were killed were civilians, leaving an even more embittered and hateful population here.

(voice-over): We came across the Izzeddine family, still mourning two senior family members.

"First, my grandfather was hit. And then, when my father went to help him, he was killed," says 8-year-old Hanna. Her uncle, Farid (ph), tells us the two men were killed as they came up here to their roof to see what was happening, when they heard Israeli tanks outside. Today, Farid is very bitter.

It's impossible to have peace with the Jews, he says. I think they are bloodthirsty and don't want peace at all. And downstairs where the women mourn, his mother wails for God's help in avenging the death of her husband and son, while yet another generation of Palestinian children absorb yet another lesson in hatred, sorrow and defiance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Now, despite all hatred on both sides, Israel has pulled out most of armor from areas that are controlled by the Palestinians. They did that overnight. And of course with Vice President Cheney's visit here, this has pushed both sides closer towards cease-fire, and both sides have been meeting. Yesterday, security officials met for the first time in a very long time, and there is another planned security meeting tomorrow, as yet no cease- fire announced, but those are the steps that are being taken at this point towards achieving that cease-fire -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Those are remarkable pictures, Christiane. I'm just curious, how did the Palestinians think this war against the Israelis is going at this point?

AMANPOUR: Well, paradoxically, even though they've have suffered perhaps three times as many casualties as the Israelis in the 18 months of this intifada, Israeli analysts, and there was in article in one of the leading papers today, feel the grassroots Palestinian leadership believe that violence paying off for them, that they feel that of course they get much more attention when this kind of violence occurs, and that recent, if you like, U-turns by the Israeli prime minister simply proves to them that violence is paying off.

The prime minister had said there will not talk of cease-fire without a long cooling-off period with no violence. Well, he's changed that. He's said he was pulling out his armor, which in fact happened yesterday from these incursions. This after the most heavy Israeli offensive into Palestinian areas in 120 years. And of course now agreeing to perhaps even talk about a political track, although he always said it was just about security matters that he would talk to Palestinians about.

And with Vice President Cheney here, his mission to the Middle East was basically to shore up support for Iraq, but he has been well and truly diverted toward bringing the U.S. into the Middle East situation, the Israeli-Palestinian situation in a very concrete way for the first time in many, many months -- Jack. CAFFERTY: How do the Palestinians view the withdrawal today, Christiane, of Israeli forces from places like Bethlehem and other occupied areas? Do they feel that's a real step forward in an effort to find peace?

AMANPOUR: A step forward, yes, but of course their traditional stance on that is that nothing will be right until the occupation is over. That is their stance, and that is their political stance, that the Israelis can withdraw all the armor that like that they have incurred over the last two weeks and even earlier, that nothing will be resolved, and there will not be no serious end to this unless the occupation is over.

But of course the militants that we spoke to yesterday, for instance, I mean, they take great pride in having destroyed an Israeli tank. I mean, they say these tanks are mythical. The Israeli army is mythical in its ability, and we are able to inflict real casualties and real damage. So they take strength from each one of those operations. So this is a very, very difficult situation for all sides here.

CAFFERTY: All right. Christiane, thanks very much. Christiane Amanpour, reporting live from Jerusalem.

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