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American Morning

Israeli Military Gets Green Light For New Action

Aired May 09, 2002 - 07:02   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: Up front this morning, the Israeli military gets a green light for new action, while the negotiations in Bethlehem hit a new snag. It's not quite back to square one at the Church of the Nativity. Talks stalled over the fate of 13 Palestinian militants who Israel refers to as "senior terrorists."

For more now on where the negotiations go from here and why they stumbled in the first place, we turn to CNN's Mike Hanna in Bethlehem -- good morning, Mike.

MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula. Here it's early afternoon on a very hot spring day. Seasons are changing here, but not the situation in Bethlehem. Thirty-six days into the siege, and now it continues.

If we take a look down into Manger Square, there we see a tank parked outside the Church of the Nativity. Earlier on, there were buses parked outside there waiting to take people away as they emerged from the church on terms of a deal that had been reached between negotiators.

Negotiators were coming and going in recent days, and it did appear early morning that a deal had finally been reached, in terms of which the bulk of people would come out of that church, be taken away, identified and then most of them allowed to go free. That issue still where 13 people that Israel describes as wanted terrorists, who were due in terms of the agreement to remain in the church until a third country was found to accept them in exile.

Well, the sticking point there is Palestinians insisting that there has to be guarantees that the Israeli forces will not storm the church and arrest the 13 after everybody is out of the church. The Palestinians saying you need at least a European Union envoy, for example, to provide a guarantee for the safety of those 13. Israel describes this demand as unacceptable, saying it's an attempt to undermine the negotiations, the deal that had been reached.

The upshot of all of it is that after 36 days, the siege now appears to be back to square one. The crane with a camera, which had been taken away in recent days, now back in place. Israeli forces now back in their positions around the Church of the Nativity compound. For all intents and purposes, as I stand here, Paula, it seems as though the days and weeks of negotiations may not have taken place at all. ZAHN: And, Mike, if you could, bring us up to date on the cabinet meeting that was held earlier today, where basically the prime minister was given a green light to retaliate any way he basically sees fit for the bombing two days ago.

HANNA: Yes, Ariel Sharon arrived back from Washington, went straight into a meeting with his security cabinet that senior members of his cabinet from various parts of his coalition. What was decided there? Well, basically Sharon was given a green light by that security cabinet to take whatever military measures he deems necessary in the wake of that suicide bombing in Rishon Letzion just south of Tel Aviv, which claimed so many Israeli lives.

Also discussed in the cabinet meeting, though not put to the vote, was the future of Yasser Arafat. Some of the ministers saying Yasser Arafat has got to go; the suicide bombing the last straw. Sharon though not putting that particular issue to the vote. That still remaining in limbo as far as Sharon is concerned, and certainly that issue still to be resolved in the days and weeks ahead -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right. Mike Hanna, thanks so much for that live update. We will come back to you if you see any change in this standoff situation.

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