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American Morning
Arafat Says He Will Appoint Prime Minister
Aired February 14, 2003 - 07:36 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: Bowing to months of international pressure, Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority, says he will appoint a prime minister. The move is one of the democratic reforms demanded by the U.S. and Europe. Does the timing have anything to do with what's going on in Iraq?
Let's turn to Kelly Wallace, who joins us from Jerusalem with more -- good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Well, the timing definitely has a great deal to do with Iraq, because Yasser Arafat has been facing tremendous pressure from Western and U.N. diplomats to go ahead and make this move and agree to appoint a prime minister before any U.S.-led war against Iraq. And so it was after meeting today with U.N., Russian and European diplomats that the Palestinian leader said he would call a meeting in the next few days of the Palestinian parliament where he said he would seek approval for and name the new prime minister.
Now, key questions remain, such as who this prime minister will be, how much power will that person have and will that person be viewed as credible and empowered, especially by the Israelis and the Americans. Both have been calling for drastic changes when it comes to the Palestinian leadership.
Now, we have some reaction so far from Israeli officials. Ehud Olmert, who is the mayor of Jerusalem and someone who is expected to play a big role in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new government, said the relevancy of what Yasser Arafat said today will depend on whether the Palestinian leader becomes irrelevant himself. If he becomes irrelevant, then Olmert said what Yasser Arafat said today will be relevant.
So far no formal reaction from the White House. A top senior official saying the White House will have to look and see exactly what Yasser Arafat said, but that all along the U.S. has been calling for democratic institutions that serve all the Palestinian people -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks, Kelly.
Kelly Wallace reporting from Jerusalem this morning.
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 February 14, 2003 - 07:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Bowing to months of international pressure, Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority, says he will appoint a prime minister. The move is one of the democratic reforms demanded by the U.S. and Europe. Does the timing have anything to do with what's going on in Iraq?
Let's turn to Kelly Wallace, who joins us from Jerusalem with more -- good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Well, the timing definitely has a great deal to do with Iraq, because Yasser Arafat has been facing tremendous pressure from Western and U.N. diplomats to go ahead and make this move and agree to appoint a prime minister before any U.S.-led war against Iraq. And so it was after meeting today with U.N., Russian and European diplomats that the Palestinian leader said he would call a meeting in the next few days of the Palestinian parliament where he said he would seek approval for and name the new prime minister.
Now, key questions remain, such as who this prime minister will be, how much power will that person have and will that person be viewed as credible and empowered, especially by the Israelis and the Americans. Both have been calling for drastic changes when it comes to the Palestinian leadership.
Now, we have some reaction so far from Israeli officials. Ehud Olmert, who is the mayor of Jerusalem and someone who is expected to play a big role in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new government, said the relevancy of what Yasser Arafat said today will depend on whether the Palestinian leader becomes irrelevant himself. If he becomes irrelevant, then Olmert said what Yasser Arafat said today will be relevant.
So far no formal reaction from the White House. A top senior official saying the White House will have to look and see exactly what Yasser Arafat said, but that all along the U.S. has been calling for democratic institutions that serve all the Palestinian people -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks, Kelly.
Kelly Wallace reporting from Jerusalem this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
