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American Morning
Mideast Meeting
Aired May 16, 2003 - 09:32 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Saeb Erakat has resigned as the Palestinian minister in charge of negotiations. All of this news coming right now on the eve of this meeting tomorrow between the new Palestinian prime minister and the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon.
Kelly Wallace is live in Jerusalem to help us along the roadmap as to why he resigned and why now.
Kelly, Good afternoon there.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Bill.
Well, the person who can answer these questions, Saeb Erakat himself, is not commenting. In a phone interview with CNN, he says this decision was based on -- quote -- "a lot of things." He is also dismissing reports that he is resigning because he was enraged that the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, will be bringing two advisers to this Saturday meaning meeting with Prime Minister Sharon, but not Erakat.
Despite Erakat's denial, there are many Palestinian observers we have been talking to throughout the day think this is exactly why Erakat is stepping down, that he is, after all, the minister in charge of negotiations, and that he believes he should be at this meeting with Prime Minister Sharon.
Bill, we should also tell you, of course, Saeb Erakat is a Yasser Arafat loyalist, so there is some question about whether this represents an ongoing power struggle going on behind the scenes between Yasser Arafat and the new Palestinian prime minister.
And we should also say stay tuned. Because right now, this resignation doesn't take effect until one week from today. So many are saying perhaps this is not final, and perhaps somehow Saeb Erakat can be talked to change his mind -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kelly, the questions might be a bit premature, but if indeed this is the case, who becomes then the chief negotiator for Mahmoud Abbas, and also does this set back the negotiations that could or could not take place over the weekend?
WALLACE: You know, we don't know the answer to the first question, but it is a key role, the chief Palestinian negotiator, so if Saeb Erakat stays out of the government, Mahmoud Abbas would have to appoint somebody else. But if you look at who Mahmoud Abbas is bringing along with him on Saturday night, he is bringing his security chief Mohammed Daklan (ph) and also the speaker of the Palestinian parliament. These are the men who also have some relationships with the Israelis, and many believe these are the men who will ultimately work with the Israelis to try and get both sides back to the negotiating table.
Still, as we've been saying, it is significant. It will be the first high-level Israeli Palestinian summit in 2 1/2 years. That is significant, but, Bill, both sides are not very optimistic about any major breakthrough.
The best they can hope for, they say, is perhaps some agreement on next steps, maybe some follow-up meetings down the road when it comes to security -- Bill.
HEMMER: Big meeting tomorrow on Saturday. Kelly Wallace in 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
Aired May 16, 2003 - 09:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Saeb Erakat has resigned as the Palestinian minister in charge of negotiations. All of this news coming right now on the eve of this meeting tomorrow between the new Palestinian prime minister and the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon.
Kelly Wallace is live in Jerusalem to help us along the roadmap as to why he resigned and why now.
Kelly, Good afternoon there.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Bill.
Well, the person who can answer these questions, Saeb Erakat himself, is not commenting. In a phone interview with CNN, he says this decision was based on -- quote -- "a lot of things." He is also dismissing reports that he is resigning because he was enraged that the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, will be bringing two advisers to this Saturday meaning meeting with Prime Minister Sharon, but not Erakat.
Despite Erakat's denial, there are many Palestinian observers we have been talking to throughout the day think this is exactly why Erakat is stepping down, that he is, after all, the minister in charge of negotiations, and that he believes he should be at this meeting with Prime Minister Sharon.
Bill, we should also tell you, of course, Saeb Erakat is a Yasser Arafat loyalist, so there is some question about whether this represents an ongoing power struggle going on behind the scenes between Yasser Arafat and the new Palestinian prime minister.
And we should also say stay tuned. Because right now, this resignation doesn't take effect until one week from today. So many are saying perhaps this is not final, and perhaps somehow Saeb Erakat can be talked to change his mind -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kelly, the questions might be a bit premature, but if indeed this is the case, who becomes then the chief negotiator for Mahmoud Abbas, and also does this set back the negotiations that could or could not take place over the weekend?
WALLACE: You know, we don't know the answer to the first question, but it is a key role, the chief Palestinian negotiator, so if Saeb Erakat stays out of the government, Mahmoud Abbas would have to appoint somebody else. But if you look at who Mahmoud Abbas is bringing along with him on Saturday night, he is bringing his security chief Mohammed Daklan (ph) and also the speaker of the Palestinian parliament. These are the men who also have some relationships with the Israelis, and many believe these are the men who will ultimately work with the Israelis to try and get both sides back to the negotiating table.
Still, as we've been saying, it is significant. It will be the first high-level Israeli Palestinian summit in 2 1/2 years. That is significant, but, Bill, both sides are not very optimistic about any major breakthrough.
The best they can hope for, they say, is perhaps some agreement on next steps, maybe some follow-up meetings down the road when it comes to security -- Bill.
HEMMER: Big meeting tomorrow on Saturday. Kelly Wallace in 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
