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American Morning
Israel Cabinet Meeting About Latest Bombing
Aired August 20, 2003 - 07:18 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S.-backed plan for peace in the Mideast looks to be in trouble, after yesterday's deadly suicide bombing. The terrorist attack in Jerusalem killed at least 20 people.
Today, the Palestinian Authority cut off contact with Islamic militants, and Israel is considering a military response.
CNN's Jerrold Kessel is at the site and has the latest for us this morning
Jerrold -- good morning.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.
And a lot of pain and a lot of bitterness here in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Mea Shearim. More mourning here -- people have been coming on the site of last night's bus bombing to light candles, wreaths are being laid, and people standing around reading Psalms, reading other prayers, as they contemplate the human effect of that devastating bombing yesterday evening. Twenty people in all killed.
And one gets the feeling that -- you hear that from medical relief workers who were on the site last night, in the hospitals -- that somehow this bombing, compared to all of the different bombings that we've had in Jerusalem, that there have been all around Israel in the last several years, there was something different about this. Perhaps it's the number of people killed in a bus bombing. Perhaps the fact that people were coming back straight from prayers at the Wailing Wall, at the Western Wall, Judaism's holy site. Perhaps the fact that so many of those killed and wounded were children.
But perhaps something different also is that this could have a major, major impact. It could be a real milestone, perhaps the last milestone or perhaps a key milestone on that so-called "road map to peace." And it's the decisions that are being taken today by the Palestinian and the Israeli leadership of what to do next.
The Palestinian leadership meeting down in Gaza to decide what action they will take. A leading spokesman on the Palestinian Authority said that Hamas, the militant Islamic group, had broken the rules. And the top security chiefs are meeting down there to decide what action needs to be taken in response to that violation of the rules by Hamas.
And what the Palestinians decide to do could very well effect what the Israeli government decides to do. Prime Minister Sharon is convening a security cabinet meeting later this evening to decide on the options that are being presented to him already this morning by the country's military and security chiefs on the possible actions.
A lot of crucial decisions to be made both in Jerusalem and Gaza and Ramallah today -- decisions which could affect the very fate of that road map for peace.
Back to you.
O'BRIEN: Jerrold, a quick question for you. As we mentioned, the Palestinian Authority has now cut off contact with Islamic militants. What's the reaction to that move? And has it been positive, or is there a sense of it's too little, too late?
KESSEL: Well, it's a very, very difficult position that Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority prime minister, finds himself in. He has been arguing that he can talk the Palestinian militants out of continuing with violence and even extend themselves to proclaim cease- fire beyond its projected deadline at the end of September.
Now there must be some doubt whether he can do that, even though Hamas and Islamic jihad are saying that they were only reacting to Israeli provocations, but they reacted with such veracity that it seems as if Mr. Abbas is under such pressure to act, and he may have to act. Whether what he does is sufficient to satisfy both Israel and the United States, another matter indeed. It is a critical time for the decision-makers on all sides here, and that could be critical for that peace process, the road map for peace.
O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Jerrold Kessel, thank you for that report.
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 August 20, 2003 - 07:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S.-backed plan for peace in the Mideast looks to be in trouble, after yesterday's deadly suicide bombing. The terrorist attack in Jerusalem killed at least 20 people.
Today, the Palestinian Authority cut off contact with Islamic militants, and Israel is considering a military response.
CNN's Jerrold Kessel is at the site and has the latest for us this morning
Jerrold -- good morning.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.
And a lot of pain and a lot of bitterness here in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Mea Shearim. More mourning here -- people have been coming on the site of last night's bus bombing to light candles, wreaths are being laid, and people standing around reading Psalms, reading other prayers, as they contemplate the human effect of that devastating bombing yesterday evening. Twenty people in all killed.
And one gets the feeling that -- you hear that from medical relief workers who were on the site last night, in the hospitals -- that somehow this bombing, compared to all of the different bombings that we've had in Jerusalem, that there have been all around Israel in the last several years, there was something different about this. Perhaps it's the number of people killed in a bus bombing. Perhaps the fact that people were coming back straight from prayers at the Wailing Wall, at the Western Wall, Judaism's holy site. Perhaps the fact that so many of those killed and wounded were children.
But perhaps something different also is that this could have a major, major impact. It could be a real milestone, perhaps the last milestone or perhaps a key milestone on that so-called "road map to peace." And it's the decisions that are being taken today by the Palestinian and the Israeli leadership of what to do next.
The Palestinian leadership meeting down in Gaza to decide what action they will take. A leading spokesman on the Palestinian Authority said that Hamas, the militant Islamic group, had broken the rules. And the top security chiefs are meeting down there to decide what action needs to be taken in response to that violation of the rules by Hamas.
And what the Palestinians decide to do could very well effect what the Israeli government decides to do. Prime Minister Sharon is convening a security cabinet meeting later this evening to decide on the options that are being presented to him already this morning by the country's military and security chiefs on the possible actions.
A lot of crucial decisions to be made both in Jerusalem and Gaza and Ramallah today -- decisions which could affect the very fate of that road map for peace.
Back to you.
O'BRIEN: Jerrold, a quick question for you. As we mentioned, the Palestinian Authority has now cut off contact with Islamic militants. What's the reaction to that move? And has it been positive, or is there a sense of it's too little, too late?
KESSEL: Well, it's a very, very difficult position that Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority prime minister, finds himself in. He has been arguing that he can talk the Palestinian militants out of continuing with violence and even extend themselves to proclaim cease- fire beyond its projected deadline at the end of September.
Now there must be some doubt whether he can do that, even though Hamas and Islamic jihad are saying that they were only reacting to Israeli provocations, but they reacted with such veracity that it seems as if Mr. Abbas is under such pressure to act, and he may have to act. Whether what he does is sufficient to satisfy both Israel and the United States, another matter indeed. It is a critical time for the decision-makers on all sides here, and that could be critical for that peace process, the road map for peace.
O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Jerrold Kessel, thank you for that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
